What is honey processing?

Ok, so lets clear things up…there is no honey used in the actual processing of this awesome coffee! So what is honey processing?

Honey Processed Coffee

This coffee process is one of three methods of processing used to pre-prepare coffee for roasting and is a popular method in countries where water is scarce.

Once the berries are picked they are cleaned and sorted into ripe, unripe, over-ripe & damaged lots.  Only the perfectly ripe cherries are used for the best possible results.  Once the berries are clean the pulp (fruit) is removed using a wet-mill or a dry-mill.

What makes this process so different is at this stage in the process the mucilage is left on.  The mucilage is a thin gooey layer that surrounds the parchment, essentially acting as a protective layer to the bean.  It is also very sweet in flavour and this is what makes the defining characteristic of ‘honey’ process coffee.  Once dry the mucilage gives the coffee a heightened sweetness and more body in the cup.

We can also get varying degrees of honey process coffee. These are known as Yellow Honey, Orange Honey, Red Honey & Black Honey.  The more mucilage left on the darker the colour.

Learn more about the processes of coffee beans and how to use them in one of our Beginners Barista courses, taught in Sydney and Wollongong. Check out information about our courses here.