Updated on December 10, 2022
One of the most consumed beverages worldwide is coffee. There are numerous methods for processing the coffee beans, and millions of people drink it every day. The industry has developed numerous techniques related to specialty coffee in order to produce novel tastes, scents, and experiences; one of the more recent techniques is known as honey processing.
What is honey processed coffee?
All coffee must go through some sort of “processing” at the farm level because it is a fruit, and only then will it make it to your preferred coffee roaster and, finally, your cup. One technique that has gained popularity recently is the honey process, especially in Costa Rica, which is usually given the credit for it. Unfortunately, there is no actual honey involved—bad news for any bears who are reading this.
It helps to be familiar with the two polar opposites of conventional coffee processing, washed coffee and natural process, in order to comprehend the honey method. After the coffee cherry is plucked from the coffee treelet, the pulp (skin), fruit, and mucilage surrounding the bean are mechanically removed from the cherry (referred to as “depulping”). The remaining seeds, or coffee beans, are next cleaned, fermented, and dried in tanks. Contrarily, during a natural process, the skin and flesh of the coffee fruit, also known as a coffee “cherry,” are left on the coffee bean and allowed to dry in the sun. This can give the bean specific characteristics that some people find fruity, complex, and intriguing. (Others have different opinions of them.)
What Is The Honey Processing Method?
The natural approach and the method for processing honey are similar, but there is a significant distinction. The honey processing technique is a kind of coffee processing that falls in between natural processing (the beans are dried with the fruit still on) and washed processing (the fruit is peeled, and the beans are soaked and washed).
The cherry must be removed off the bean for the coffee to be classified honey processed, but the sticky muclago, which is primarily made of sugar and covers the bean while drying, must be left on. When dried, the mucin turns into a hue resembling honey and holds the beans together. The coffee cherry is taken from the bean during the honey processing, but the mucilage—the gooey material that surrounds the bean—is not. The mucilage, which resembles honey, is then left on the dried beans.
The distinctive flavor of honey-processed coffee is the result of differences in the amount of mucilage removed and the length of time the beans are dried across farmers.
What Does Honey Processed Coffee Taste Like?
Coffee that has been honey-processed often tastes sweeter. Sugars that are released during roasting are present in the residual mucilage on the beans.
Since the mucilage in honey-processed coffee may contain fruit acids, it frequently tastes fruitier than other types of coffee. The amount of mucilage that is left on the beans and the length of roasting are other factors that affect how honey-processed coffee turns out. The coffee will be less sweet and have fruitier flavors if the majority of the mucilage is removed. The coffee will be sweeter with chocolate and caramel flavors if only a small amount of mucilage is removed.