Understanding coffee processing

Processing is what happens between picking the ripe coffee cherry and drying the green bean inside it. Two lots from the same farm, same variety, same altitude can taste completely different depending on how they're processed — it's one of the biggest levers a producer has over flavour.

Washed (or "fully washed") is the cleanest method. The cherry skin and fruit (the mucilage) are removed before drying, often after a short fermentation in water to loosen what's left. Without the fruit sitting on the bean, washed coffees tend to taste bright, clean and clearly show the variety and terroir underneath. Our Urabeast (Ethiopia), Colombia and Peru (La Cima) are all washed.

Natural (or "dry") processing skips the depulping — the whole cherry is dried in the sun with the fruit still intact, then hulled afterwards. As it dries, the fruit ferments right up against the bean, pushing big, fruity, sometimes wine-like or boozy notes into the cup, with a heavier body. Our Konga (Ethiopia) is a natural, which is where those red apple and grape notes come from.

Honey process sits between the two. The skin is removed like a washed coffee, but some or all of the sticky mucilage — the "honey" — is left on the bean during drying. More mucilage left on means more sweetness and body, less means a cleaner cup closer to washed. Our Aponte (Colombia) is a honey process, which shows up as caramelised, panela-like sweetness in the cup.

None of these is objectively "better" — they're just different tools for different results, and part of why single-origin coffee is worth paying attention to. Next time you're picking a bag, the process on the label is as good a clue to what's in the cup as the origin itself.