Coffee Bean Recommendations for Beginners - Differences Between Washed and Natural Process Coffee Beans

This coffee bean has a lemon tea feeling! This coffee bean has a strawberry juice feeling! Many beginners in single-origin coffee are amazed by the rich flavor substances in coffee. The quality of a coffee bean's flavor cannot be separated from the quality control of coffee farmers. In addition to the decisive factors of regional soil, climate, and variety, the process of selecting coffee beans is also very important, which is what we often call coffee processing methods.

What is Coffee Processing?

To understand coffee processing methods, we first need to understand the structure of coffee cherries: from the outside to the inside, the coffee cherry consists of skin, pulp, mucilage, parchment, silver skin, and finally our coffee bean. Therefore, the purpose of coffee processing is to remove all parts of the coffee cherry except the coffee bean and obtain the coffee bean.

As people's demand for specialty coffee flavors becomes more refined, many innovative processing methods have emerged in recent years. Behind these innovative processing methods are the most traditional coffee processing methods, which we are most familiar with: natural processing and washed processing. What are the differences between these two processing methods? How can we brew coffee beans from both processing methods to taste better? Let's follow FrontStreet Coffee to understand the characteristics of natural and washed processing methods.

Natural Processing Method

"Natural processing" means drying coffee beans through sunlight. As the most primitive coffee bean processing method, the quality of coffee beans after drying was once a pain point for coffee farmers! Due to backward equipment, many coffee cherries were placed directly on the ground (those with better conditions would use a waterproof cloth as a barrier) for direct sun exposure. Due to rough conditions and crude processing methods, coffee beans absorbed the essence of the earth, forming earthy flavors. Additionally, natural processing heavily depends on weather. Once cloudy days or rain are encountered, coffee cherries are prone to mold, and the coffee beans will develop rotten flavors.

However, as people pay more attention to specialty coffee, natural processing equipment in many producing regions has been upgraded. Wealthier areas have built raised drying beds (drying equipment for coffee cherries with nets supported by frames to allow air circulation from top to bottom, also called African raised beds), while less wealthy areas have constructed cement floors to reduce coffee cherries absorbing earthy flavors. The drying process also emphasizes turning, allowing coffee cherries to dry more evenly.

Natural Processing Steps

After harvesting, coffee cherries are selected and then placed on cement floors or drying racks for 3-4 weeks of natural drying until the moisture content of the coffee cherries is reduced to 11% (that is, the outer shell is hard and appears dark reddish-black). After drying is complete, the outer shell is crushed and removed. The coffee beans are stored with parchment, which is only removed before the coffee beans are exported.

Identifying Natural Processed Coffee Beans & Flavor Characteristics

Naturally processed green coffee beans appear yellow-green, with relatively complete silver skin retention on the bean surface. During roasting, the silver skin peels off more completely as whole pieces, so the vast majority of naturally processed roasted coffee beans do not form white lines in the central crease. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the biggest flavor characteristic of natural processing is rich fruity aroma and light fermentation, with noticeable sweetness and smooth mouthfeel.

Brewing Tips for Natural Processed Coffee Beans

As mentioned above, naturally processed coffee beans have rich floral and fruity aromas and noticeable sweetness, but this is not the inherent sweetness of coffee beans, but rather sweet flavors like honey, sugarcane, and brown sugar. Therefore, when brewing, use center pouring extraction to allow the coffee grounds to fully extract sour and sweet flavor substances at the same temperature, making the overall coffee more full-bodied; brewing water temperature can be 91-92°C, which can effectively enhance the body of the coffee.

Washed Processing Method

Unlike natural processing, washed processing is a quality-stable processing method, so many countries in Central and South America have introduced and built washing stations to increase production capacity. Before honey processing became popular in Costa Rica, washed processing was the primary method. In 1821, to vigorously develop coffee cultivation, Costa Rica introduced washed processing in 1830. Ethiopia, which traditionally relied on natural drying, also introduced it from Central and South America in 1972. This introduction greatly improved the quality of Ethiopian coffee beans and won the hearts of many enthusiasts.

The emergence of washed processing has indeed greatly improved the quality of beans in many coffee-producing regions. Because the skin, pulp, and mucilage are removed first, the moisture content of coffee beans is greatly reduced before sun drying, so the drying time is also significantly shortened, reducing dependence on weather. To better remove pulp and mucilage, they need to be placed in clean water tanks for fermentation and then washing, which requires very sufficient water sources. For this reason, many coffee-producing regions still only use natural processing.

Washed Processing Steps

First, harvested coffee cherries undergo flotation to remove coffee cherries with insufficient density. Next, machines are used to remove the skin and pulp, and then they are placed in water tanks for either dry or wet fermentation, using fermentation to decompose the mucilage layer. After fermentation is complete, the coffee beans are washed with clean water to remove the mucilage. Finally, the coffee beans with the mucilage layer removed are sun-dried until the moisture content is reduced to between 11% and 13%. The coffee beans are stored with parchment, which is only removed before the coffee beans are exported.

Identifying Washed Processed Coffee Beans & Flavor Characteristics

Washed processed green coffee beans appear blue-green, with incomplete silver skin retention on the bean surface. During roasting, the silver skin peels off in fragments. Some roasted coffee beans have silver skin that is difficult to remove from the central crease, forming a white central line. Since the fermentation step in the processing process enhances the acidity of coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the biggest flavor characteristic of washed processing is bright fruit acidity, with the overall coffee being clean and fresh, with rich layers.

Brewing Tips for Washed Processed Coffee Beans

As mentioned above, washed processed coffee beans have rich layers, so the brewing method will use three-stage extraction, allowing different flavor substances to better present themselves as the coffee grounds gradually heat up. The brewing water temperature can be 90-91°C, which ensures the cleanliness of the coffee while better extracting bright acidity.

Important Notice :

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