Natural Process Coffee: What It Is and How It Changes Taste

Natural vs washed vs honey: how do they compare?

The same variety from the same farm can taste like three different coffees depending on the process. The comparison below summarizes the general differences. The cup descriptions are typical tendencies, not rules.

	Washed	Honey	Natural
What is dried	Seed with no mucilage	Seed with part of the mucilage	Whole cherry
Drying time	Shortest	In between	Longest
Mucilage kept	None	Part of it (more in red and black honey than in yellow)	All of it
Typical cup	Citrus, floral, tea-like; high clarity	Caramel, stone fruit, red fruit; medium-full body	Berries, tropical fruit, winey; full body
Acidity	Brightest	Rounded	Lowest
Defect risk	Low	Medium	High

Drying times vary with weather and altitude, which is why naturals depend so much on the climate where they are dried.

What is honey process coffee, and where does it sit?

Honey process sits between the other two. The cherry is depulped, but some or all of the sticky mucilage stays on the seed while it dries. Despite the name, no honey is involved. The more mucilage left on, the sweeter and heavier the cup tends to be, which is why producers split honeys into yellow, red and black, from least to most mucilage.

If your customers like the sweetness of a natural but find the fruit too loud, a honey is the usual answer. It keeps rounded acidity and a clean finish, and it carries less defect risk than a full natural.

What should roasters check when buying a natural?

How well the producer controlled the drying decides how good a natural is. Before you buy:

1. Ask for the moisture reading. Compare it with the target on the spec sheet; an unevenly dried lot shows up here first.
2. Look at the green. Mixed colors, pale or brown beans, and a musty smell are warning signs. Unripe cherries dry brown next to ripe ones, which is a known cause of inconsistent naturals.
3. Cup it before the contract. Look for sweet, clean fruit. Fermented, boozy or sour notes mean the lot went too far.
4. Plan the roast around sweetness. Medium roasts highlight the sweetness of naturals and honeys, while light roasts keep washed coffees delicate, according to Achilles.
5. Order a sample. A sample roasted on your own machine tells you more than a description.

How does this look in a real Colombian natural?

Naturals are also made in Colombia. CORA's retail Caturra is one example. It grows at 1,600 m above sea level on a single farm in vereda Chuscal, Balboa, Risaralda, and it is processed as a natural: the bean dries with the pulp on. It is roasted medium and scores 82.5 on the SCA scale, in the specialty range. The cup shows sweet panela fragrance, milk chocolate and caramel sweetness, light chamomile and hazelnut notes, a delicate body and a clean finish. You can see that product on the Caturra page of the CORA shop.

That is the retail coffee. For any green lot, confirm the processing method on that lot's spec sheet before you buy.

For the variety behind that cup, see our Caturra coffee profile for roasters. For the bigger picture on sourcing from one Colombian farm, including what to ask any supplier, read Colombian green coffee for roasters.

Which process should you choose?

Choose by what your menu needs:

• Washed if you want clarity, brightness and the lowest risk of defects.
• Honey if you want sweetness with structure and a more forgiving lot.
• Natural if you want fruit, body and a standout single origin, and you are willing to cup carefully.

Many roasters carry one of each so customers can compare. If you are building that lineup, request a sample and tell us which profile you are after. Traceable single-farm green coffee from Colombia is what we offer roasters outside the country, with samples and spec sheets, and quotes by lot, FOB.