The same coffee cherry can end up tasting clean and bright or wild and fruity, and a big part of that is processing. It is what happens to the cherry after picking and before roasting. Here are the three you will see most.
Washed
The fruit is removed before the bean dries. Less fruit contact means a cleaner, clearer cup where the origin and variety show through. Think bright acidity, florals, citrus. If you like a crisp, refined coffee, washed is your friend.
Natural
The cherry dries whole, fruit still on the bean. The bean drinks up that sweetness, so naturals taste bigger and fruitier. Berries, tropical fruit, sometimes wine. Push it further with low oxygen fermentation and you get the loud, candy like flavors we cover in what is anaerobic natural coffee.
Honey
The middle path. Some of the fruit is left on while the bean dries, so you get sweetness and body without going full natural. Caramel, soft stone fruit, a rounder cup.
None is better than the others. They are three different kinds of pleasure. The fastest way to learn your taste is to brew a washed and a natural side by side and pay attention. Get on the drop list and we will send you something worth comparing.