Washed and Honey and Natural... Oh My!

I get a lot of questions online and at the stand about our two (soon to be three) coffees, particularly the difference between the washed, honey, and natural methods. So here we go.

Amid a fast developing coffee industry that puts precedent on the latest and greatest, I must set the record straight and say that not one method is better than the others. Each have their endearing qualities and their loyal drinkers. My mom, for example, would always choose a light natural over something darker. My dad on the other hand drinks his coffee, in true New Yorker style; deep, dark, and whether or not he knows, washed. I prefer my brew somewhere in the middle, and increasingly I am enjoy honey processed coffees, especially our Nicaraguan offering from Roger and Isabel at Finca Las Mercedes.

So let’s dive into the differences, but first, some background. The coffee “bean” as we call it is actually just a seed of the coffea plant belonging to the same family of trees as the holly tree. Its covered by several layers of coatings that range from a sweet fruity husk commonly referred to as the “coffee cherry” to a thin papery inner layer called “parchment”, all which are removed at some point or another during its processing. It is important to note that the coffee fruit contains a fair amount of natural sugar and if one were to bite into a raw cherry, it would taste remarkably sweet. However, that is where things get interesting. Like our bodies, most of the fruit is comprised of water and all three methods utilize different strategies of drying, however our three processes dry the seeds with different layers removed. Here is a breakdown from most layers removed to least before drying.

Washed Coffee: Our Finca Del Cerro coffee from Antonino and Cesar is first stripped of its outer “cherry” coating. It is then washed in cold spring water to remove all the sticky, gooey mucilage. All that remains is the coffee seed and its parchment, which are left out to dry for 1-2 weeks. This leaves a clean, crisp notes in our dark roast, one that drives the flavor profile of our legendary cold brew.

Honey Processed Coffee: In Nicaragua, our partners Roger and Isabel of Finca Las Mercedes go about things a little differently. They still take off the outer coffee cherry, but leave some of the middle layers of mucilage intact as the coffee dries. Throughout the longer drying time, as compared to a washed coffee, some of the natural sugars are infused into the seed. This creates a nice balance between smoothness and sweetness in our light roast, and perfect for a Cam’s Kettle pour-over if I do say so myself.

Natural Processed Coffee: This is the OG coffee drying method, originating in the hills of Ethiopia thousands of years ago. With the natural, everything including the cherry coating is left on as it is dried (for a longer time of 3-6 weeks), which infuses a larger portion of the fruit’s sugars into the seed. This yields a “bright and fruity” cup of coffee with notes of lemon and a certain zingy-ness that most in the specialty coffee world find quite delightful. In early June we will introduce our newest coffee offering, a natural.

Ripe coffee cherries at Finca Del Cerro, Comayagua, Honduras, 2019