Natural processing is the oldest and original form of processing coffee, this originated in Ethiopia. While this method has lost some popularity, with certain regions and growers,
adopting the washed process. It still remains the second most popular method of removing the skin (aka pulp), mucilage and parchment from the coffee leaving us with green beans ready for roasting.
This method splits opinions of roasters, barista’s and consumers alike, some loving its traits and others considering it a less quality method, due to it muting the characteristic of the bean itself. As with all things tastes and opinions are subjective, so our aim here is to outline the method, pros & cons to give you some insight into this process. From there I hope you can all get your hands on some natural coffee’s, taste and form your own opinions. One thing that can not be disputed and I find very important to disclose is that it is the most eco friendly method of all. Something we should all be taking into account when purchasing coffee, be that as green coffee, from a roaster, or a cafe, is sustainability and transparency from farm to cup.
Dry processing steps:
Cherries are picked from coffee tree’s.
Cherries are washed and ones that float are removed. Not all growers take this step, this helps ensure the cherries are clean and removes unripe fruit
The whole coffee cherry is placed on patios or raised beds in the sun.
They are constantly raked and turned to enable even drying and to eliminate spoilage by rotting. This usually takes between 3-6 weeks depending on climate.
The coffee is covered at night and during rain to prevent delaying the drying process.
The dried coffee cherries (moisture content around 11%) are now sent to a mill to be hulled. Meaning to remove the pulp, mucilage and parchment, so that just the seed remains.
Effectively this process aims to dry the bean with the whole cherry intact, instead of de-pulping it and removing some mucilage like in other methods. This allows the bean (technically a seed by the way) to draw in all the flavours and sugars from the fruit. Having an intact cherry helps the fermentation during the drying process. This process relies on someone to be turning and raking the beans paying careful attention to prevent spoilage.
As with all methods there is some downfalls or things to be weary of. Dry processing can be less consistent than washed processing, when the beans dry and darken, it’s very hard to see unripened beans from good ones. Strict sorting and testing must take place after processing to ensure high quality grades of beans are untainted. Over fermentation can happen easily with natural coffee’s therefore strict attention and experienced people are required to attain a quality cup.
It is opinion of some people within the coffee world that natural process is an inferior process than washed, however current trends are starting to show this opinion is changing. Recently we have seen an increased demand for high quality natural coffees, with naturals from the “Best of Panama 2019” lots fetching higher prices at auction than their washed counter parts.
Natural coffee’s take on the flavours of the fruit adding a deep sweetness, less acidity and more body than washed coffee’s. This profile lends its self to people who prefer deep, full bodied flavours and can often be said to pick up winey characteristics from the fruit fermentation.
Natural process relies on a climate without too much humidity for this to be effective, otherwise spoilage will occur before the beans reach their required moisture content (as mentioned in the wet hulled post, trying this method somewhere like Indonesia would not work). While you will find this process in many countries alongside washed, it is most popular in Brazil. Within Brazil almost 90% of their coffee produced there is processed natural, lending itself well to blends and milk based espresso for its deep sweetness, full body and heavy chocolate notes (this is the most popular coffee within Italy to this day).
I find that there is a great place for natural coffee’s in our coffee culture here in Australia. These suit well with milk based beverages, filter coffee, yet also as a full bodied espresso or long blacks in winter months where the deep flavours seem comforting. In my opinion coffee is all about exploring different flavours and styles, I love the variety.
Low quality naturals can be very unpleasant, with a distinct over fermented flavour and too much body, which mutes the other characteristics and almost tastes generic. Like anything if you seek out quality driven growers where care and attention has been paid, a roaster that understands how to roast natural coffee (this can be more difficult for a roaster, as the added sugars from the fruit can burn easy on the outside of the bean causing scorching, so a more delicate heat must be applied), you should end up with a beautiful well balanced cup of coffee.
These are just my opinions, I hope you can all get out there, try some good quality naturals and make your own formed opinions, looking to see if you can taste some of the characteristics mentioned above. If you are someone that prefers to seek out coffee at cafes, speak to your barista about coffee processes, maybe they can offer you some coffee’s in the single origin varieties where you can taste the effects of different processing methods for yourself.
Happy drinking and as always, stay caffeinated.
Lars x
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