If washed processing is about clarity and natural processing is about fruit intensity, honey processing sits somewhere in between.
Despite its name, honey processing has nothing to do with honey. The term comes from the sticky layer of fruit mucilage that remains on the coffee bean after pulping. During drying, this sugary coating becomes tacky and golden in appearance, resembling honey.
Originally developed and refined in countries such as Costa Rica and El Salvador, honey processing emerged as a practical solution to growing concerns around water consumption while still producing clean, high-quality coffees.
Over time, it evolved into something much more significant. Producers discovered that by controlling how much mucilage remained on the bean during drying, they could influence sweetness, body and flavour complexity in highly predictable ways.
Today, honey processing has become one of specialty coffee's most respected methods, prized for its balance between clarity and richness.
HOW IT WORKS
Ripe cherries are sorted and passed through a depulper, which removes the outer skin of the fruit. Unlike washed processing, the coffee is not fully fermented and washed clean, instead some or all of the mucilage is left attached to the bean before drying.
The coffee is then spread across patios or raised beds where it dries slowly over several weeks. During this time, the remaining sugars and fruit compounds influence flavour development while the mucilage gradually dries onto the parchment.
THE DIFFERENT TYPES
Many producers classify honey coffees based on how much mucilage remains on the bean during drying:
- White Honey - the majority of mucilage is removed before drying, therefore these coffees resemble washed coffees.
- Yellow Honey - a moderate amount of mucilage remains resulting in a cup that balances clarity with enhanced sweetness and a slightly fuller body.
- Red Honey - more mucilage is retained, creating greater fruit influence and complexity.
- Black Honey - the highest level of mucilage retention resulting in a slower drying time but producing coffees with substantial body, intense sweetness and characteristics that begin to approach natural processing.
HOW IT CHANGES FLAVOUR
Honey processed coffees are often associated with:
- Pronounced sweetness
- Rounded acidity
- Syrupy mouthfeel
- Stone fruit and tropical fruit notes
A well-executed honey process often delivers the fruit sweetness of a natural coffee alongside much of the clarity found in washed coffees.
WHY IT MATTERS
Honey processing is specialty coffee's first deliberate attempt to use processing as a flavour tool rather than a preservation method. Many of the experimental processes used today build upon the same principle.
Next: Anaerobic Processing, the technique that changed the specialty coffee landscape and sparked a global debate about innovation, flavour and authenticity.