Coffee Processing: Washed, Natural, Anaerobic & Co-fermented Coffee

What happens after coffee is picked can completely change what ends up in your cup.

The Journey…

Coffee starts as a fruit. after it’s harvested, producers have to separate the seed we eventually roast from the fruit surrounding it. how—& when— that happens is coffee processing.

washed, natural, honey, anaerobic & co-fermentation coffees all take different paths from cherry to green coffee, creating dramatically different flavors along the way.

The Process…

WASHED

Clean - Bright - Precise

In a washed process, the coffee cherry is removed from the seed shortly after harvest. The coffee is then fermented & washed to remove the remaining sticky fruit (mucilage) before drying.

Because less fruit remains around the seed during drying, washed coffees often show less fruit-like characteristics & more sugar-browning notes such as chocolate, caramel & vanilla. Exceptionally processed lots can achieve bright acidity, tea-like characteristics & complex florals.

HONEY

Sweet - Round - Crisp

Honey Processing sits between washed & natural. The skin of the coffee cherry is removed, but some of the sticky fruit—or mucilage— is intentionally left around the seed while it dries.

The amount of mucilage left behind & the way the coffee is dried can dramatically influence the final cup. What you might taste: caramel, stone fruit, rounded acidity.

NATURAL

Fruity - Sweet - Expressive

Natural coffee is dried with the whole coffee cherry still surrounding the seed. As the fruit slowly dries, fermentation & extended contact with the cherry can contribute deeper sweetness & more fruit-driven flavors.

Naturals can range from delicate & floral to intensely jammy, tropical or wine-like.

Fermentation: Aerobic, Anaerobic & Co-ferment

People are often SURPRISED WHEN WE TELL THEM FERMENTATION IS PART OF COFFEE PROCESSING.

MICROORGANISMS LIKE YEASTS & BACTERIA BEGIN INTERACTING WITH THE SUGARS IN & AROUND THE COFFEE FRUIT AFTER HARVEST. PRODUCERS CAN ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN NATURALLY— OR DELIBERATELY MANIPULATE TIME, TEMPERATURE, OXYGEN & MICROORGANISMS TO INFLUENCE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

ONE OF THE BIGGEST VARIABLES? OXYGEN.

ANAEROBIC

“Anaerobic” describes the fermentation environment rather than what ultimately happens to the coffee fruit. Coffee is fermented in a sealed environment with limited oxygen, allowing producers to more carefully influence temperature, time & microbial activity.

After fermentation, an anaerobic coffee can still be processed as a washed, honey or natural coffee.

What you might taste: tropical fruit, spices, wine-like notes, unusually intense aromatics & higher distinction of flavor.

CO-FERMENT

Co-fermentation introduces another ingredient—often fruit, herbs, spices or specific microorganisms—during coffee fermentation. The goal is to influence the fermentation environment & create flavors that would be difficult or impossible to achieve through traditional processing alone.

There isn’t one universal method. Producers may ferment whole cherries with fruit, add fruit pulp or juice, use cultivated microorganisms, or develop their own proprietary fermentation protocols.

So…is flavor added to the coffee?

Sometimes an outside ingredient is intentionally introduced during fermentation—but that isn’t the same thing as adding flavoring to roasted coffee. The coffee is still fermented, dried, milled & roasted as coffee. The added ingredient helps shape what happens during processing.

Why we love co-ferments —>

We don’t believe experimental processing automatically makes coffee better. We buy these coffees because, when they’re done well, they can be extraordinary.

Co-fermentation gives producers another creative tool for developing flavor—& gives us coffee unlike anything we’d find through traditional processing alone.