Why the Jargon on the Bag Matters

Do you ever look at a coffee bag and feel like you’re reading a foreign language? Or, like someone is just putting buzzwords on a bag to make it sound more interesting than it is? After all, what the heck is a natural processed coffee and why does that matter? Let me explain.

When you see the words “natural process” or “naturally processed,” this pertains to the method of hand drying the coffee by turning the coffee—still in its pulp or “cherry”—with a rake in the sun. It is left to dry and ferment in the sun for anywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks. The coffee must be constantly turned in this time to control the fermentation, and, for this reason, it tends to be a very labor intensive form of processing.

But it can yield huge rewards! As the coffee beans dry in the pulp, fermentation occurs and you typically get these wonderful, intense fruit notes such as blueberry and raspberry. The Yirgacheffe region in Ethiopia is particularly famous for these. Brazil is also quite famous for natural process coffee, though the flavor profile of Brazilian coffee tends to be more of chocolate, almonds, caramel, etc. The fermentation in coffees from Brazil tends to express itself more in flavor intensity as well as in sweetness. And, the sweetness is real, as natural process coffees do indeed have more sugar in them, as the enzymes react differently in the drying process than they do in a washed process.

The final step in natural processing is removing the fruit from the bean using a mechanical “demucilager” or depulper. The coffee is then left to rest and finish drying before packaging. If more mucilage is left on the beans, they can be known as “honey processed”—a form of natural process coffee that entails leaving more fermented fruit on the outside of the beans while drying.

“Washed process” coffees, as you can probably infer from the name, require the washing of the beans to remove all of the excess pulp and mucilage. In the first step, mechanical demucilagers remove the outer layer of the cherry. This leaves a light layer of mucilage on the beans. The beans are typically fermented at this point for anywhere from 6 hours to 72 hours. They are then washed to remove any of the final mucilage, then dried before removing a small final layer of the bean called the parchment.

There have been many recent advancements in washed process coffee with producers fermenting the coffee for longer periods of time in controlled holding tanks to maximize flavor profiles. Washed process coffee is typically “cleaner” tasting than natural process coffee, with notes that are maybe a little less pronounced but still quite flavorful. The overall profile is going to have less “noise,” and the flavor notes ring true. And, with longer fermentation and anaerobic fermentation now introduced into washed process coffees, they are starting to be even that much more interesting. This can produce something akin to the fruitiness of natural processed coffees, but with cleaner fermentation.

And here is a good place to talk about what else develops a coffee’s flavor. In a broad sense, the region and soil coffee is grown in (think “terroir” in wine terminology) make up a HUGE amount of the coffee’s flavor. This is why a naturally processed Ethiopia can taste so vastly different from a naturally processed Brazil. The nutrients in the soil, whether other crops are grown nearby, the altitude, whether the coffee is shade-grown—all of these play such an important role in imparting flavor into the beans.

The varietal (aka plant type) matters a ton too. A Brazilian Bourbon (pronounced brrr-bone unlike the tasty drink of the same name) varietal tastes remarkably different than the indigenous heirloom varietals in Ethiopia. Indeed, it would be interesting to take an heirloom Ethiopia varietal and place it in Brazil just to see how different it would taste—I’m sure someone has done that, so if this blog goes viral, please let me know in the comments. Hah.

Think about how many people do this with wine, especially in our state. They take a Cabernet Sauvignon varietal (which, fun fact, is actually a hybrid cross between a cabernet franc grape and a sauvignon blanc grape) that would normally be grown in France and produce wine with it on the central coast of California. It’s awesome! And i’m sure it tastes different than if it were produced in France. (Hmmm. Looks like I need to go fact check myself by tasting these wines side by side).

So, next time you look at a coffee bag’s information, you can feel a little more informed by examining the processing method. The flavor notes should help guide you; but, if for example, you don’t like fruity coffee, you should know that a natural processed Ethiopia that has fruit flavor notes is probably not going to be your favorite. You may want to opt instead for a washed process Guatemala or Peru. Or a natural process Brazil.

And, whether natural or washed, we always try to choose coffees that we think are outstanding and interesting in their own way. So, hopefully we can pair you with one (or two or three) that you LOVE.

Hope that helped!

Cheers,

Casey (The Roaster)