Differences Between Honey Process and Other Processing Methods: Flavor Characteristics of Costa Rican Mega Stone Estate Blueberry Coffee Beans

Honey Process

When I first heard of the "honey process," I was extremely curious about what kind of processing method could have such a sweet name. What flavor characteristics would coffee beans exhibit after undergoing this process? Let's explore the mysteries of the "honey process" together!

First, let's take a look at FrontStreet Coffee's "Blueberry" from Costa Rica's Rockstone Estate, which has undergone anaerobic double honey processing.

FrontStreet Coffee Blueberry Rockstone Estate

• Region: Brunca, Costa Rica
• Estate: Rockstone Estate
• Altitude: 1700-1800 meters
• Variety: Caturra, Catuai
• Processing: Anaerobic Double Honey
• Roast Level: Medium

This coffee has distinct candy and fermentation aromas in its dry fragrance. After brewing, the first sip reveals the sweetness of blueberry candy, with fermentation aromas gradually emerging and exceptional sweetness.

The anaerobic fermentation process for this coffee involves placing selected coffee beans in a sealed container, injecting carbon dioxide to expel oxygen. In this oxygen-free environment, the decomposition rate of sugars in the coffee mucilage slows down, and the pH value decreases more gradually, extending the fermentation time. This develops better sweetness and more balanced flavors, ultimately resulting in coffee beans with distinctive flavors.

What is Honey Processing?

Honey processing builds upon traditional washed and natural processing methods by retaining the mucilage of the coffee beans during drying.

Processing Steps

1. Manual selection of high-quality, ripe coffee cherries
2. Machine removal of the outer skin and pulp
3. Sun-drying with mucilage intact (different mucilage residues present different flavor profiles)
4. Drying until moisture content reaches 11-13%
5. Storage and preparation for export

Before coffee beans are roasted, several outer layers of the fruit must be removed. The beans then undergo drying to approximately 11% moisture content. There are two main common processing methods: the washed process, which uses water to remove the mucilage layer, and the natural process, which directly exposes the fruit to sunlight before removing the outer layers.

Honey processing falls between these two methods. The outer fruit layers are partially removed, retaining some mucilage, which is then dried.

Differences Between Yellow, Red, and Black Honey?

Now that we have a basic understanding of honey processing, let's explore different types of honey-processed coffees. These processing methods might be less commonly seen on packaging, but you may find some producers or exporters labeling them as white honey, yellow honey, golden honey, red honey, and black honey.

Simply put, white and yellow honey processing retains less mucilage, while golden, red, and black honey processing retains more mucilage, giving the coffee a fuller body.

To be more precise, honey processing is influenced by humidity, temperature, and sugar oxidation, which don't follow a fixed formula. The closest description can be roughly divided into the following categories:

White and Yellow Honey

White honey coffee tends to be machine-washed and retains the minimum amount of mucilage. Yellow honey coffee typically uses semi-washed methods, retaining slightly more mucilage proportionally.

Golden, Red, and Black Honey

The difference lies in mucilage retention and drying time. Higher humidity and longer processing times produce black honey, lower humidity produces red honey, and golden honey falls between.

Golden honey is dried in sunny, warm conditions with low humidity, which accelerates the drying time. Red honey, however, is dried in cooler areas to slow down the drying process, increasing the time coffee beans are exposed to moisture. Black honey has an even longer drying time and is dried in even cooler areas. Black honey coffee has a rich body, complex flavors, and is relatively more expensive.

Raisin Honey Processing

Double Fermentation Honey Processing involves first sun-drying coffee cherries to a raisin-like state, then removing the fruit pulp for honey processing and fermentation. This method results in more intense fermentation aromas, and the mucilage retention is higher than other honey processing methods. Claimed to be 100% mucilage honey processing, it truly presents raisin-like flavors.

This is an exceptionally sweet processing method, with characteristics of white wine and balanced acidity. In terms of flavor, the fermentation aromas are more intense, and the mucilage retention is higher than other honey processing methods, somewhat reminiscent of "noble rot" sweet wines, with flavors of honey, dried apricots, raisins, and peaches.

The Tarrazú region is Costa Rica's most densely cultivated fruit area, with estates primarily growing passion fruit, and coffee quantities are quite small. However, coffee beans from this region mostly use red honey, black honey, and yellow honey processing methods. The sweetness and berry aromas will surely amaze you, with excellent sweetness, consistency, and body, presenting mature fruit flavors similar to dried banana.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473