Have you ever noticed that in descriptions of coffee, there is a reference to the “processing method”? Often it will say something like “natural” or “washed” and occasionally something wild-sounding like “carbonic maceration".
So what are these mysterious-sounding processing methods?
Processing method refers to what happens to the coffee cherries or pods after they have been harvested. It refers to how the skin surrounding the coffee seeds is to be removed and how this affects flavour.
To help explain, let's take a look at the Natural Process method and look at how it can change the taste of your coffee.
Natural Processed Coffee
Natural processed coffee is picked and left to dry in the sun, with the skin of the coffee cherry left on.
The fruity organic material surrounding the coffee seeds starts fermenting, and this sugar and fruity taste transfers to the beans inside the pod. To prevent mould and diseases, the coffee is regularly turned and rotated. Natural processed coffee usually takes around 3-4 weeks to dry.
The coffee then goes through a dry mill, where the cherry and parchment are removed. Then the coffee is usually sorted by hand or a mill, then packed and bagged. Natural process coffee will have a distinctly fruity character. Sometimes apricot, peach or raspberry and strawberry. They will also be high in sugars, do have a sweeter note as well.
Depending on the processing, it can either give a lot or a little of these characteristics. These fruitier styles of coffee can taste amazing. We use them in our Christmas Blend, for example, to give the fruity notes, but they are not to everyone's taste!
