Beach Roasters Coffee Roasting Co.BEACH ROASTERSCart

COFFEE PROCESSING METHODS

Same fruit. Different processes. Distinctive flavors.

How a coffee cherry goes from farm to your cup changes its flavor in amazing ways. Here's a simple guide to the three most common processing methods.

WASHED PROCESS

Clean · Bright · Crisp

The fruit is removed from the bean before drying. The beans ferment in water to clear away the remaining mucilage, then get thoroughly washed and dried.

Process steps

  1. 1. Harvest ripe cherries
  2. 2. Remove fruit (depulp)
  3. 3. Ferment and wash
  4. 4. Dry clean beans

Typical flavor profile

  • ·Bright acidity
  • ·Clean, clear flavors
  • ·Notes of citrus, floral, and tea-like characteristics
  • ·Often a lighter body with a crisp finish

NATURAL PROCESS

Fruity · Sweet · Bold

Whole cherries dry with the fruit still on. As they dry, the beans soak up sugars and flavor from the fruit around them — once fully dry, the fruit is removed, leaving the clean beans behind.

Process steps

  1. 1. Harvest ripe cherries
  2. 2. Dry whole cherries in the sun
  3. 3. Remove dried fruit
  4. 4. Clean beans

Typical flavor profile

  • ·Pronounced fruit flavors
  • ·Natural sweetness
  • ·Notes of berries, cherry, dried fruit, and chocolate
  • ·Often a fuller body with a richer, more complex cup

HONEY PROCESS

Sweet · Balanced · Smooth

The fruit skin comes off, but some of the sticky mucilage stays on the bean while it dries. How much is left — yellow, red, or black honey — shapes the flavor in different ways.

Process steps

  1. 1. Harvest ripe cherries
  2. 2. Remove fruit (depulp)
  3. 3. Dry with mucilage intact
  4. 4. Clean beans

Typical flavor profile

  • ·Balanced acidity
  • ·Enhanced sweetness
  • ·Notes of caramel, honey, chocolate, and stone fruit
  • ·Often a medium to full body with a smooth, rounded finish

QUICK COMPARISON

WASHED

  • ·Fruit removed before drying
  • ·Clean, bright, crisp
  • ·Citrus, floral, tea-like
  • ·Lighter body

NATURAL

  • ·Dried with fruit intact
  • ·Fruity, sweet, bold
  • ·Berries, cherry, dried fruit, chocolate
  • ·Fuller body

HONEY

  • ·Some fruit mucilage left while drying
  • ·Sweet, balanced, smooth
  • ·Caramel, honey, chocolate, stone fruit
  • ·Medium to full body

Taste the difference for yourself

Clean and crisp, bold and fruity, or smooth and sweet — every roast we carry is picked for how its process brings out that origin's best qualities.

Shop our roasts