Honey process or pulped natural is essentially a hybrid of the dry and wet processes in which the fresh coffee cherries are de-pulped, but allowed to dry without washing. Some of the fruit is still there, but not nearly as much as in the natural process.
Most of the cherry is gone, but the remaining golden, sticky mucilage is reminiscent of honey, which is where the process gets its name.
The Honey process allows farmers to use less water but still provide a uniform product. Allowing the fruit to dry on the bean means that it can be physically removed during milling rather than being washed off as is typical of washed coffees.
Drying carefully and under supervision is crucial to the success of this processing method. The beans need to constantly move during the drying process to prevent mould and fungal infections.
There are different kinds of honeys, affected by humidity, heat, and the oxidation of sugar. The white and yellow honeys have less mucilage left after being mechanically washed. Gold, red, and black honey coffees, on the other hand, have much more mucilage remaining. This leads to a fuller-bodied coffee.
The darker honeys come across well in espresso, where it almost tastes as if someone added a drop of honey to your cup. White and yellow processed coffees, in contrast, tend to have a cleaner taste when prepared as a filter coffee.
Red Honey
Red honey is processed under shade to slow down the drying time. This will increase the amount of humidity the beans are exposed to.
Process
The coffee cherries are harvested from the trees.
The beans are then pulped from their outer skin, left in a layer of mucilage. This mucilage layer contains a high amount of sucrose (sugar) and acids which is really the key of the honey process.
The beans are laid on raised drying beds or concrete slabs for drying under shade to slow down the drying time. This will increase the amount of humidity the beans are exposed to. Don’t dry the beans too quickly to convert the flavours from the mucilage to the bean. Don’t dry the beans too slowly to avoid fermentation within the beans.
The beans need to be raked or agitated every hour or several times a day until they reach the desired moisture percentage (approximately 11% moisture). This usually takes between 6-8 days.
Once the coffee has finally dried, it’s ready to be dry milled and roasted just like with the other processes.
Black honey
Black honey is processed under more shade, required constant monitoring to avoid over-fermentation and mould developing. They also typically have greater potential to lose freshness. As soon as the green beans arrive they should be roasted so their sweet honey flavours are captured.
Process
The coffee cherries are harvested from the trees.
The beans are then pulped from their outer skin, left in a layer of mucilage. This mucilage layer contains a high amount of sucrose (sugar) and acids which is really the key of the honey process.
The beans are laid on raised drying beds or concrete slabs for drying under shade to slow down the drying time. This will increase the amount of humidity the beans are exposed to. Don’t dry the beans too quickly to convert the flavours from the mucilage to the bean. Don’t dry the beans too slowly to avoid fermentation within the beans.
The beans need to be raked or agitated one every 24 hours until they reach the desired moisture percentage (approximately 11% moisture). This usually takes between 6-8 days.
Once the coffee has finally dried, it’s ready to be dry milled and roasted just like with the other processes.
Honey processing is time consuming and the resulting sweeter flavour profile, generally attracts higher prices.