Natural, Washed or Honey: How Processing Shapes Your Coffee

Every coffee bean starts life as the seed of a bright red fruit called a coffee cherry. Before it can be roasted, that seed has to be separated from the fruit around it and dried. How a farm does that is called processing, and it's one of the biggest influences on how your cup tastes. Two coffees grown on the same hillside can taste like different drinks depending on the process.

You'll see the process listed on every Chaff and Beans label. Here's what it means.

Natural (dry) process: fruity and bold

In a natural process, the whole cherry is laid out in the sun, often on raised beds, and left to dry with the fruit still wrapped around the seed. It's the oldest method, and it takes skill: the cherries need turning for days or weeks so they dry evenly.

Because the seed sits inside the fruit the whole time, it picks up more of the fruit's sugars and character. Naturals tend to be fruit-forward, sweet and full-bodied, with notes like berries, tropical fruit or even wine.

A note on the name: "natural" here describes how the coffee is dried. It isn't the same as organic, and it doesn't say anything about how the coffee was farmed.

Where to find it: Ethiopia is famous for its naturals. Keep an eye out for Ethiopian coffees in our range soon.

Washed process: clean and bright

In a washed process, the fruit is removed from the seed soon after picking. The seeds are then fermented in water to loosen the last sticky layer of fruit, rinsed clean and dried.

With the fruit gone early, what you taste is mostly the coffee itself and where it was grown. Washed coffees are usually clean, crisp and bright, with clear, well-defined flavours.

Try it in: our Kenya Rung'eto Karimikui AB (brown sugar, light blackberry, stonefruit) and our Jack Murat Washed from Queensland (vanilla, milk chocolate, sugar cane).

Honey (miel) process: the sweet middle ground

A honey process sits between the two. The skin of the cherry is removed, but some of the sticky fruit layer, called mucilage, is left on the seed while it dries. Despite the name, there's no honey involved: it refers to that sticky, honey-like coating. In Costa Rica it's often called miel, Spanish for honey.

Honey-processed coffees are often sweet, rounded and syrupy, with a little of the natural's fruitiness and some of the washed coffee's clarity.

Where to find it: Costa Rica is known for its honey coffees. Look out for a Costa Rica Miel in our range soon.

So which should you choose?

• Love fruity, adventurous flavours? Start with a natural.
• Prefer a clean, bright, crisp cup? Go for a washed coffee.
• Want sweetness and balance? Try a honey process.

The best way to learn is side by side. Brew two coffees with different processes the same way, and taste them together. The difference is often surprising.