The Anatomy of a coffee seed helps me visualize why the processing method is so important. If you drink coffee for long enough, you’ve probably heard the terms “washed,” “honey process,” or maybe “natural” at some point. That’s because these are the most common 3 ways coffee is processed at the farms or mills after picking.
What makes these terms so important
is they represent a method in which the seed is dried. When coffee comes from the producer to us (the roaster), the seed is green and hard as a rock. But as you can see in the image of this fresh-cut ripe coffee cherry, the seed inside is moist and porous.
In the most common Washed Process the entire cherry and all layers of its skin & pulp are removed from the seed immediately after it’s picked. The seeds are then fermented in a pulp, Washed, and dried usually on elevated sunbeds.The Natural Process involves all the layers of the cherry around the seed naturally drying in the sun together.
The Honey Process involves drying the coffee seed with only the epidermis layer of skin from the cherry.
Inside the coffee cherries are multitudes of complex acids and sugars. These are what give the bean it’s flavor. So you can begin to visualize and imagine why these processes are so important and what makes them so unique from one-another.
I love all kinds of coffees, in all kinds of different processes. What makes Specialty Coffees so interesting to me is that the variety’s are endless and ever-expanding. The flavors are speaking to you from the soil and the culture of all the people that are involved with brewing the bean, they change over time for the better or the worse, and the flavors just keep coming.
You can find the processing method in bullet points of our online catalog and other information about the coffees. Shop Coffee
Read more about the acid content in your coffee: Read Here
Nicolas M, Co-Founder, Foxen Coffee
