Not long ago, a loyal fan of washed beans visited the Front Street store. They had bought many washed coffees before, but struggled to brew them with layering at home, so they asked Front Street for tips or suggestions. So today, let's explore brewing methods for washed coffee.

What is washed coffee?

The "washed process" in coffee is translated from the English term "Washed process," and in origin regions it is also called“Wet process”, which means "wet processing."

From the outside in, a coffee cherry consists of the skin, pulp, mucilage, parchment, and coffee beans. The coffee we drink every day is the innermost seed. The conventional "washed" method follows a relatively simple sequence of steps: removing defects → machine depulping → tank fermentation → washing and scrubbing → drying → hulling → packaging. As for other washed processes, they are adjustments made to traditional operations. For example, Kenya's double washed method uses multiple soaking and washing steps to further remove residual mucilage.

As a traditional green bean processing method, the washed method was created to improve coffee quality, making each green bean batch stable and efficient in production to achieve profitability. So even today, washed processing remains one of the most common and popular processing methods in origin regions. We can find traces of it in the information panels of many coffee beans, such as Front Street Gudingding, Front Street Little Tomato, Front Street Emerald Green Label, Front StreetKilimanjaro... all owe their success to the washed method.

What are the characteristics of washed coffee?

Because during the washing process, the green beans remain bare and soaked in water for fermentation, and the mucilage is thoroughly removed through scrubbing afterward, compared to natural processing, it better highlights the characteristics of the coffee seed itself and has almost no fermented feel, resulting in higher cleanliness.

To more clearly present the regional (or varietal) character of the coffee, roasters adopt appropriate roast levels for different washed beans. For example, the bright citrus acidity of washed Gudingding, the tomato juice feel of washed Kenya, the white floral and clean, serene character of washed Panama Geisha... these are what people find captivating about washed coffee. At the same time, many beginners fall into a misconception, thinking that "washed coffee must be more acidic than natural coffee."

Front Street needs to correct one point: the acidity in the coffees mentioned above is mainly determined by the roast level and has little to do with the processing method. Here's an example: Front Street roasted Golden Mandheling, which is known for its full-bodied mouthfeel, to first crack and dropped it. It can still exhibit high-intensity acidity. As for whether it tastes good, that's up to individual opinion.

The reason we feel that "washed beans are more acidic" is also because natural coffee is dried with the skin and pulp, which easily releases complex fermented fruity aromas into the seed, giving us full-bodied notes of tropical fruit, slight wineiness, candied fruit, and brown sugar. Front Street once compared washed Panama Geisha and natural Colombia Geisha using the same set of parameters for extraction and found that the natural Geisha indeed smelled sweeter and more fragrant than the washed one, but on the palate, the natural one had far higher acidity than the washed one.

What brewing method suits washed coffee beans?

As Front Street mentioned in the previous section, the reason many washed beans are so deeply loved is mainly their unique clean and serene flavor, as well as the bright floral and fruity notes presented under light-medium roasting. So if you want the coffee to taste layered and distinct, the brewing concentration should not be too high. Front Street chooses 1:16 for extraction.

Additionally, under the same parameters, the lighter the roast, the lower the solubility of the coffee grounds in water. To increase the extraction yield, besides the fine grind and high water temperature that Front Street often mentions, you can also further control it by increasing the number of pours and raising the water stream in circular motions.

Although they are all washed processed, Front Street believes that coffees with fruity acidity can be roughly divided into two categories: one is represented by Kenya,Rwandaasclassic examples ofdark berry-like thick acidity, and the other is the fresh charm of white flowers and citrus, mostly found in washed coffee beans from Ethiopia, Panama, Peru, and Colombia.

Here, Front Street Little Tomato is chosen, a double washed coffee from Kenya. To highlight its full and juicy mouthfeel and rich layering, Front Street will pair it witha V60 for extraction. The spiral ridge design allows the water flow to create a more thorough "squeeze" on the coffee bed, maximizing the absorption and expansion of coffee particles.

Coffee beans: Front Street Kenya · Little Tomato

Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:16

Total water: 240g (40g+70g+70g+60g)

Grind size: EK43 setting 10 (80% passing through #20 sieve / C40 grinder 25 clicks)

Water temperature: 93℃

Dripper: Hario V60#01

Pouring technique: four-pour method

First, pour 15g of coffee grounds into the V60 and gently level them. For the first pour, use a slow stream to pour 40g of water in circular motions from the center outward, and let it bloom for 30 seconds. Make sure to wet all the coffee grounds to allow degassing.

After 30 seconds, begin the second pour. Pour 70g of hot water in vertical circular motions. You can raise the stream slightly higher so the coffee bed rises quickly to half the height of the dripper, allowing the flavors to unfold better.

When the coffee liquid drops to the point where the coffee bed is almost exposed, at 1 minute 9 seconds, begin the third pour. Use the same technique and water amount as the previous pour. After pouring 70g of hot water, the liquid level will be just even with the previous pour. Compared to the bloom, these two pours are mainly responsible for releasing the fruity acidity and caramelized aromas of the washed beans, so be careful not to pour water onto the filter paper, as it can easily cause underextraction.

When the liquid level drops to the halfway point, at about 1 minute 41 seconds, begin the final pour of 60g. This pour is mainly responsible for extracting the sweet aftertaste and full-bodied mouthfeel of the washed coffee, so there is no need for a strong stream—just keep pouring at the center point.

The Little Tomato brewed this way truly lives up to its name, with a dense tomato aroma. On the palate, there is rich berry acidity of blueberry and black grape, along with a hint of caramel. As the temperature drops, soft light floral notes and snow pear flavors become more prominent, with a solid juice feel. Both the layering and the lingering character are incredibly rich.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.