Flavor and Taste Differences Between Washed and Natural Coffee Bean Processing Methods

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Experienced coffee enthusiasts know that there are coffee beans processed using various methods on the market. Different processing methods create flavor variations in coffee beans. The most common coffee processing methods are washed and natural processing. These two major processing methods are the most ancient ones. However, with the development of the specialty coffee market, coffee farmers have become more meticulous in processing coffee beans, leading to the current refined washed and refined natural processing methods. So what are the differences in flavor and taste between washed and natural processing? FrontStreet Coffee will explain the relevant knowledge to coffee enthusiasts through this article.

What is Natural Processing?

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, natural processing is the oldest processing method, also known as "natural drying." As the name suggests, it involves natural drying through the sun, so it doesn't require high-end equipment—just continuous sunny days for sun-drying operations, which require 27-30 days. Therefore, it has strict climate requirements and is suitable for countries in arid regions.

For example, Ethiopia is a coffee-producing country that widely uses natural processing because of its high altitude, dry climate, and scarce water resources. However, it's worth noting that although natural processing is relatively simple, precisely because of this, coffee beans processed through natural methods don't look very attractive and may have some cracks, making them less appealing.

Natural Processing Process

So what is the specific operational process of natural processing? FrontStreet Coffee will explain:

1. First, mature coffee cherries must be harvested, then manually sorted to select defective, overripe, or insect-damaged coffee cherries, leaving only good beans. This is also why the coffee beans at FrontStreet Coffee stores generally appear uniform and attractive.

2. The good cherries selected manually are sent to drying areas for drying. Different coffee-producing regions use different drying racks—some use waterproof tarps, raised beds, or concrete floors. The drying time averages 27-30 days until the coffee moisture content reduces to 11% to complete the drying process.

3. This step is also crucial. After drying, the coffee cherries are sent to specialized processing plants for dehulling and even polishing to remove the pulp and other parts of the coffee cherry, resulting in what we commonly recognize as coffee beans.

4. The green coffee beans after hulling undergo another screening to remove poor-quality beans again. This is because over-dried coffee beans are quite fragile and may break into fragments during the hulling process, while under-dried coffee beans contain too much moisture, and active water content can make coffee beans susceptible to bacterial growth and mold. Therefore, they must be screened again before being sent to warehouses for storage and packaged for export.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Natural Processing

Advantages: As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, natural processing is relatively simple, meaning it doesn't require much cost. Therefore, naturally processed coffee beans have irreplaceable fermented flavors. With the rapid development of specialty coffee, coffee farmers have begun to value naturally processed coffee beans. For example, placing coffee beans on racks for drying and frequently turning them to prevent contamination. This is why FrontStreet Coffee stores now have so many high-quality naturally processed coffee beans.

Disadvantages: FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above that naturally processed coffee beans have very strict weather requirements, making it difficult to control the dryness of coffee cherries. If the drying grounds are not clean, coffee beans can easily mix with impurities, leading to more defective beans. During the drying process, coffee cherries remain with their fruit and pulp intact, making them prone to mold and spoilage.

Fortunately, with technological advancements, coffee farmers pursue higher-quality naturally processed coffee beans and have begun using instruments and manpower to closely monitor the fermentation and drying degrees of coffee, removing any coffee found to be abnormal. Of course, this operation costs more but is more meticulous, hence it's also called refined natural processing.

Flavor Profile of Naturally Processed Coffee Beans

Because naturally processed coffee beans are exposed to the sun for extended periods, their flavors are more intense, with richer layers, fermented aromas, and higher sweetness.

What is Washed Processing?

The second common coffee processing method is washed processing. Most coffee beans from different regions at FrontStreet Coffee are also washed-processed, especially the daily brew beans launched by FrontStreet Coffee. This is because washed-processed coffee beans are cleaner, and their flavor expression is more transparent, reflecting the most original taste of coffee cherries. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee often says that the flavor of washed-processed coffee beans serves as a guide to understanding the flavor profile of a producing region.

Washed Processing Process

1. First, coffee farmers pour all harvested coffee cherries into water. Poor quality and defective coffee beans will float to the surface, while those that sink to the bottom are qualified coffee cherries. This operation significantly reduces the time wasted in individual selection.

2. The selected coffee cherries are put into a depulper to remove the outer skin and pulp. After removing these, the surface of the coffee cherries still has a layer of mucilage sticking to it, so large amounts of clean water are needed to wash away the sticky substances on the coffee cherry surface.

3. Next, fermentation is used to completely remove the mucilage. This process takes about 18 hours. However, after fermentation, fermentation bacteria adhere to the coffee cherry surface, so another thorough wash with large amounts of clean water is needed. For this step, to obtain 1 kilogram of coffee beans, 40 to 50 kilograms of clean water are consumed, making it unsuitable for arid countries.

4. The cleaned coffee beans can undergo drying treatment. Some regions will take them directly outdoors for drying, while more developed producing regions will send them to processing plants for machine drying, reducing the coffee moisture content to around 11%.

5. Finally, the dried coffee beans are stored and packaged for sales and export.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Washed Processing

Advantages: Coffee beans washed with large amounts of water have fewer impurities and more complete appearance. Since the outer skin and pulp of coffee cherries are removed through washing at the beginning, there's no need to worry about mold issues, and the overall quality is relatively stable.

Disadvantages: The washed processing method is relatively complex and cumbersome, requiring large amounts of water, making it more expensive and less used in water-scarce regions.

Flavor Profile of Washed Processed Coffee Beans

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, washed-processed coffee beans have cleaner and more transparent flavors, with acidic and fruity aromas, bright taste, and lower sweetness and body.

Differences Between Washed and Natural Processed Coffee Beans

As mentioned above, there are significant differences in the processes of natural and washed processed coffee beans. In daily cupping and brewing, FrontStreet Coffee finds that washed-processed coffee beans have stable quality, clean taste, and better acidic aromas and brightness; while naturally processed coffee beans have the sweet and sour taste of tropical fruits, retain the natural thickness of coffee beans, have rich flavor layers, and sometimes have a slight wine aroma. Each has its own advantages, and neither is necessarily better than the other.

The above is what FrontStreet Coffee has compiled regarding the flavor differences between washed and natural processed coffee beans. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will give two examples of Blue Label Geisha coffee beans from Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda—one natural processed and one washed processed—to give coffee enthusiasts a more intuitive understanding of the flavor differences between these two processing methods.

FrontStreet Coffee · Panama Washed Blue Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Country: Panama
Region: Boquete, Hacienda La Esmeralda
Altitude: 1500 meters
Variety: Geisha
Processing Method: Washed Processing

FrontStreet Coffee · Panama Natural Blue Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Country: Panama
Region: Boquete, Hacienda La Esmeralda
Altitude: 1500 meters
Variety: Geisha
Processing Method: Natural Processing

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Share

Both of these beans are Geisha variety coffee beans, so to highlight the acidity and floral-fruit aroma of this variety, FrontStreet Coffee used light roasting for both coffee beans.

Drum temperature 180°C when beans enter, heat 130, damper opened to 3; Return temperature at 1'32", when drum temperature reaches 104°C, open damper to 4, heat unchanged; When drum temperature reaches 151.6°C, the bean surface turns yellow, grassy smell completely disappears, entering the dehydration stage. At 7'56", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast aroma clearly transforms into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 8'30", first crack begins, open damper to 5. Develop for 1'28" after first crack, drop beans at 190°C.

Brewing Recommendations

Dripper: V60 #01
Water Temperature: 90-91°C
Dose: 15g
Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (Chinese standard 80% pass-through rate through #20 sieve)

Brewing Method: Three-stage extraction.

Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then continue pouring with small water flow in circular motion to 125g for segmentation. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. Wait for the water level to drop and is about to expose the coffee bed, then remove the dripper (timing starts from bloom). Extraction time is 2'00".

Natural Blue Label Geisha Coffee Bean Flavor: Lemon, honey, passion fruit, fermented wine aroma.

Washed Blue Label Geisha Coffee Bean Flavor: Jasmine floral aroma, citrus, bright acidity, honey.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, ID: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473