Washed, natural, honey.
A short field guide to the three families of processing, and what each one does to the cup.
The word 'process' covers everything that happens between the picked cherry and the green bean in the export bag. Three families dominate the world's specialty production. Each one is a different set of trade-offs.
01Washed (or 'wet')
The cherry is de-pulped within hours of picking, and the sticky mucilage that remains on the seed is removed by controlled fermentation in tanks — usually 12 to 36 hours — followed by a clean-water rinse. The parchment is then dried slowly on raised beds or patios.
The result is the cleanest, most transparent expression of a variety and terroir. Acidity is bright and defined. Fruit tends to be citrus or stone-fruit rather than jammy. Washed coffees are the reference against which every other process is measured; they hide nothing, including the grower's mistakes.
02Natural (or 'dry')
The whole cherry — skin, pulp, mucilage, seed — is dried intact on raised beds, turned by hand, over two to four weeks. Only after drying is the fruit removed. The seed spends the entire drying window in contact with its own sugars.
Well-executed naturals carry deeper, sweeter fruit: strawberry, blueberry, ripe tropical notes; a rounder body; a lower, softer acidity. Poorly executed naturals ferment unevenly and taste of wine gone wrong. Naturals are the highest-risk, highest-reward family in specialty coffee.
03Honey (and 'pulped natural')
A hybrid. The skin is removed as in a washed process, but some or all of the mucilage — the honey-like layer around the seed — is left in place during drying. The colour of the dried mucilage gives the sub-styles their names: white, yellow, red, black honey, in order of increasing mucilage retention and drying time.
Honeys sit between the two: cleaner than a natural, with the syrupy sweetness and rounded body a washed coffee will not usually give you. They ask for careful drying and stable weather, and they punish shortcuts.
04The experimental fringe
Anaerobic and carbonic macerations, thermal shock washes, extended fermentations, co-ferments with fruit or lactic cultures — all are variations on the same three families, with tighter control of oxygen, temperature or inoculum. They are worth doing when they clarify a variety. They are noise when they are done for their own sake.
05How to read a bag
If the label says only 'natural' or 'honey', ask how long the drying took and at what temperature. A grower who knows the answer is a grower worth buying from.