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Coffee guide

Coffee processing methods

After coffee is picked, what happens to the cherry before drying decides a huge part of the flavor. Same bean, different process, very different cup. Often the difference matters as much as the origin itself.

A coffee “bean” is the seed inside a cherry. Processing is how the fruit is removed and the seed is dried. The key variable is how long the seed stays in contact with its sweet, sticky fruit (the mucilage). More contact means more fruit and ferment in the cup, less contact means more clean clarity.

Washing and sorting coffee at a wet mill
Wet process

Washed

The fruit is stripped off and the beans are fermented and rinsed clean before drying. Nothing fruity is left clinging to the seed, so the cup is transparent, it shows the origin’s true character: bright, clean, and crisp. The standard for showcasing high-grown Arabica.

Clarity: highAcidity: brightBody: lighter
Ripe coffee cherries dried whole for natural process
Dry process

Natural

The whole cherry is dried intact, fruit and all, so the seed soaks up sweetness and fruit as it dries. The result is heavier, sweeter, and unmistakably fruity: think berry, jam, and a wine-like edge. The oldest method, and a favorite for expressive, juicy cups.

Clarity: lowerFruit: highBody: heavy
Coffee cherries being processed
In between

Honey

The skin is removed but some of the sticky mucilage is left on the bean to dry, a middle path between washed and natural. It keeps a clean structure while adding rounded sweetness and gentle fruit. Named yellow, red, or black honey by how much fruit is left on.

Clarity: mediumSweetness: highBody: rounded
Coffee bean samples in jars
Controlled ferment

Anaerobic

The cherries ferment in sealed, oxygen-free tanks, where producers control time and temperature precisely. It pushes flavor to the extreme: intensely fruity, boozy, sometimes funky and wild. The most expressive and experimental cups on the menu, and not for everyone.

Clarity: variesIntensity: very highBody: full

At a glance

From cleanest to wildest

A rough spectrum of how much fruit and ferment ends up in the cup.

Washed
clean & bright
Honey
sweet & balanced
Natural
fruity & heavy
Anaerobic
intense & wild

If you’ve only had washed coffee and you try a good natural or anaerobic, it can be a record-scratch moment: “coffee can taste like that?” That’s the fun of paying attention to processing. None is “better.” They’re different roads, and which you like is just taste.

Process, in the cup

Our reviews note the process on every bean. See how washed, natural, and anaerobic actually drink.

Browse the reviews →