Washed, Natural & Honey Coffee

Coffee comes from a fruit called a coffee cherry. Inside that cherry are the coffee beans. After farmers pick the cherries, they need to remove the fruit and dry the beans so they can later be roasted.

The way farmers do this is called the coffee processing method.

Processing matters because the coffee fruit is sweet. The longer the beans stay in contact with the fruit, the more sweetness and fruity flavours end up in the coffee. If the fruit is removed early, the coffee tastes cleaner and lighter.

Let’s break down the three most common methods.

Washed coffee (clean and bright)

Washed coffee means the fruit is removed from the beans very soon after picking.

How it works (simple version)

1. Coffee cherries are picked

2. The fruit is removed

3. The beans are washed with water

4. The beans are dried

Because the beans don’t spend much time inside the fruit, washed coffee usually tastes clean and clear.

Washed coffees are great if you like coffee that feels “light” and easy to drink. Many people also like washed coffee because it shows the true character of the coffee origin.

Natural coffee (sweet and fruity)

Natural coffee means the coffee cherries are dried whole, with the beans still inside the fruit.

How it works (simple version)

1. Coffee cherries are picked

2. The whole cherries are dried in the sun

3. After drying, the fruit is removed

4. The beans are cleaned and sorted

Because the beans stay inside the fruit while drying, they absorb more sweetness and fruit flavours.

Natural coffees are perfect if you want something fun, juicy, and different.

Honey coffee (balanced and smooth)

Honey coffee is a middle point between washed and natural.

The name is confusing because it has nothing to do with adding honey. It’s called honey because the beans are dried with a sticky fruit layer that feels like honey.

How it works (simple version)

1. Coffee cherries are picked

2. The skin is removed

3. Some sticky fruit layer stays on the bean

4. The beans are dried like this

So the beans keep some fruit contact (like natural), but not as much as drying the whole cherry.

Honey coffees are great if you want sweetness and softness without the strong fruit intensity of naturals.

It’s worth noting that “honey process” is a very broad term. Because it sits between washed and natural, different farms (and even different countries) may use the term in different ways. This means honey coffees can vary a lot in flavour and style depending on how the producer processes and dries the beans.

Quick summary

• Washed = fruit removed early → clean and bright

• Natural = dried with fruit → sweet and fruity

• Honey = some fruit left → smooth and balanced