How to Identify Coffee Processing Methods in One Sip? What's the Difference Between Natural and Washed Processing? How to Taste Pour-Over Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee often brews some of the more popular recent beans as demo samples to share with visiting customers. Then occasionally, some customers can immediately identify the processing method of the beans with just one sip, causing other customers to exclaim in amazement: "How did you identify the bean's processing method with just one sip?"

Actually, it's quite simple—as long as you find the right approach, processing methods are very easy to distinguish. Great! Today FrontStreet Coffee will share this method with everyone, helping you all become coffee tasting masters!

Step One to Identifying Flavors: A Simple Understanding of Processing Methods

The processing method of coffee green beans determines the overall flavor direction of the coffee. Therefore, understanding the processing methods will greatly help our tasting abilities. FrontStreet Coffee has previously broken down and explained processing methods in detail, so today, we'll just keep it simple! The processing methods we need to understand today are mainly natural and washed.

Natural Processing

Natural processing is the most traditional and oldest method among coffee post-harvest processing techniques. Through prolonged sun exposure, the harvested coffee cherries are dried directly. Once the moisture content of the coffee cherries drops to a certain level, they can undergo hulling to extract the fermented coffee green beans!

Washed Processing

Washed processing is a method adapted by island coffee farmers to local conditions. Through large amounts of clean water, the depulped coffee beans undergo fermentation and pectin decomposition, followed by sun-drying of the green beans. Once the moisture content drops to a certain level, the washed processing is complete! Methods like K72 and double fermentation are variations of washed processing.

Now that we understand them, how can we identify the processing method with one sip? Coffee beans processed through different methods are endowed with distinct characteristics. We just need to identify these characteristics during coffee tasting and piece them together to obtain the green bean processing information of this cup of coffee! When visiting customers have such needs, FrontStreet Coffee always recommends comparing different processing methods from the same producing region, as this provides the most intuitive way to feel the differences brought by various processing methods.

The producing region recommended by FrontStreet Coffee is Ethiopia! The reason for the recommendation is simple: this region's flavors are quite prominent and familiar to everyone, with fewer influencing factors, making it easier to distinguish the differences brought by processing methods. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee has selected two Ethiopian Yirgacheffe beans as representatives: Natural Red Cherry and Washed Kochere.

Both beans were brewed using identical parameters: 20g of coffee; 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio; ground with EK43 at setting 10; water temperature at 92°C; using V60 dripper; three-pour brewing method. Since brewing isn't the focus of this chapter, we'll skip those details!

Everyone is likely very familiar with the flavor profile of Yirgacheffe beans—citrus, floral notes, and tea-like sensations are the main flavor characteristics of this region. The additional sensations beyond these basics are the characteristics brought by processing (for the most part).

When drinking naturally processed Yirgacheffe, besides the basic flavors, there's an additional fruity fermentation aroma, with weaker acidity, higher sweetness, and distinct layers. Washed processed Ethiopian beans clearly exhibit enhanced citrus acidity—prominent and bright—with more intense tea-like and floral notes, giving the entire cup of coffee a very clean feeling!

Why do these differences exist? Because natural processing involves sun-drying the entire coffee cherry (skin, pulp, and bean) directly for a longer period, the fermentation degree is relatively stronger compared to washed processing, resulting in more aromatic substances produced by microorganisms and richer layering. Additionally, the green beans absorb large amounts of sugars from the fruit pulp and pectin, weakening acidity and increasing sweetness. The reason washed processed Yirgacheffe has higher acidity is that the sugar substances in the green beans are continuously consumed during water fermentation and converted into acidic compounds. This is why the acidity is more pronounced; and because they aren't exposed for long periods in unstable environments, there are fewer substances affecting cleanliness, resulting in higher clarity.

So now everyone understands the characteristics of these two processing methods! Naturally processed coffees generally taste sweeter, with full fruit flavors, distinct layering, and a slight fermented taste; washed processed coffees taste very clean, with bright acidity, and more prominent tea-like and floral notes.

Alright, quickly grab some beans and try them out! Just keep tasting and tasting, and you'll definitely be able to identify the characteristics of processing methods—you're the next tasting master!

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