What is honey coffee processing and how does it work?
Honey processing is one of the three main coffee processing methods, alongside washed and natural. It was developed by Costa Rican farmers who faced steep mountain roads and costly washed processing. By leaving the sticky mucilage on the bean during drying, honey processing produces coffee with pronounced sweetness and a delicate aroma.
The method is widely used across Central American coffee origins, and its results are graded by how much mucilage remains, giving yellow, red, and black honey categories. Lower mucilage retention tends toward cleaner, lighter cups, while higher retention brings heavier sweetness and body. Anaerobic honey and raisin honey are newer variations on the same idea.
Honey processing is one of the three major coffee processing methods, and it is especially prevalent in Central America. It was invented by Costa Rican coffee farmers due to the inconvenience of mountain transportation and the high cost of washed processing. By retaining the mucilage, it gives the coffee a more prominent sweetness and delicate aroma. This article systematically reviews the origin of honey processing, the complete process, the classification standards for yellow, red, and black honey, as well as its advantages, disadvantages, and flavor risks. It also introduces two derivative techniques, anaerobic honey processing and raisin honey processing, and uses two beans from the "Front Street" Costa Rica Musician Series, Mozart and Bach, as examples to show the specific flavor differences of different honey processing methods in the cup.
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Coffee fans familiar with coffee all know that the common three major coffee processing methods are washed processing, natural processing , and honey processing. Among them, honey processing is used quite widely in Central America. Honey-processed coffee beans perform in flavor just like their name suggests, sweet. So next, this Front Street article will explain the relevant knowledge about honey processing.
The Origin of Honey Processing
Coffee fans who enjoy drinking the Indonesian Mandheling coffee at FrontStreet Coffee all know that Mandheling's unique flavor is closely related to Indonesia's local wet-hulling method . The use of the wet-hulling method is because Indonesia's local climate is humid and water resources are limited, making it impossible to achieve the same level as traditional natural processing and washed processing . Therefore, local coffee farmers used their wisdom to create the wet-hulling method.
Honey processing is the same kind of story. Honey processing was developed by coffee farmers in Costa Rica's producing regions. The background to its development is that most of Costa Rica's coffee-producing areas are on steep mountains, and transportation is inconvenient. So when the coffee cherries from their own farms were sent to the washed processing station at the foot of the mountain, many coffee cherries were found to have been damaged; this also reduced coffee bean production and therefore reduced income. Thus, honey processing was developed in this way.
Secondly, according to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, another reason was that few green bean buyers went up into the Costa Rican mountains to purchase high-quality coffee cherries, so sales channels were lacking. These buyers purchased at extremely low, exploitative prices, so the coffee farmers in the mountains also distrusted these buyers. That was why they invented honey processing, selling coffee beans in a self-produced, self-sold form to obtain more income to sustain their livelihoods.
At present, because honey processing performs well in flavor, it is widely used in Central American coffee-producing regions, and Costa Rica has also developed many special honey processing methods locally. For example, the Bach coffee beans and Mozart coffee beans in FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Musician Series are made by raisin honey processing and anaerobic honey processing respectively.
The Process of Honey Processing
1. As in the first step of washed processing, first put all coffee cherries into water and remove floating beans and defective beans, retaining good coffee cherries.
2. Take the selected coffee cherries directly to raised beds to dry for at least three days, reducing the moisture content of the coffee cherries to 20%.
3. Then put the dried coffee cherries into a depulper to remove the skin and pulp, leaving the mucilage. This is also why honey-processed coffee beans are sweet, because mucilage is the part of the coffee cherry with the highest sugar content.
4. Then dry the coffee beans that still retain the mucilage, reducing the coffee's moisture content to 11%, and they can be stored in the warehouse.
And according to Front Street's understanding, honey processing is also classified according to how much mucilage is retained. For example, coffee beans with about 40% of the mucilage removed are called yellow honey; honey-processed coffee beans with 25% of the mucilage removed are classified as red honey; and there is another type in which 100% of the mucilage is retained, classified as black honey.
Honey-processed green coffee beans also require great care during the drying process. Because honey-processed coffee beans retain mucilage, there will be a lot of sticky material, and during drying they must be constantly turned to prevent mold and over-fermentation.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Honey Processing
Advantages: Because honey processing is an improved method of natural processing, and because the pulp is removed at the beginning, there will not be a mold problem. It also does not require a large amount of clean water, so the cost is lower.
Disadvantages: The processing steps can be said to be the most complex and labor-intensive of all methods.
Flavor of Honey Processing
As Front Street said above, honey processing can increase coffee's sweetness and relatively reduce its acidity, and its aroma will also be more delicate. Of course, this is when honey processing is carried out well; if it is not carried out well, it will taste of unpleasant acetic acid, and spicy aromas like onion or garlic. Even when it is carried out quite well, it will still carry a bit of earthy flavor, the finish will be less clean, and off-flavors will be heavier than in general washed methods. Therefore, overall, using honey processing carries much higher risk than general wet processing.
Above, FrontStreet Coffee also mentioned the other two processing methods in Costa Rica's coffee-producing regions. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will briefly introduce them.
Anaerobic Honey Processing
The method of anaerobic honey processing is to remove the outer skin and pulp of the coffee cherries, retain the mucilage, and directly put them into sealed fermentation tanks for low-temperature fermentation, at roughly 10-15 degrees. After three days, they are dried in the sun. Compared with honey processing, the coffee flavor of anaerobic honey processing will be more stable, because human control can be used to achieve the desired coffee flavor.
Raisin Honey Processing
The raisin honey processing method is to dry the coffee cherries in the sun for 72 hours. After sun drying, the coffee cherries are in a raisin-like state, then processed by the washed method, and after removing the skin, 100% of the mucilage is retained and they are sun-dried again, containing the fermented wine aroma of natural processing, the clean mouthfeel of washed processing, and the sweetness of honey processing. The raisin processing method is not unique to Brazil. In Costa Rica it is called "raisin honey processing." The general practice is, after harvesting fresh cherries, not to remove the skin first, and to sun-dry the coffee cherries for 72 hours. After sun drying, the coffee cherries are in a raisin-like state, then processed by the washed method, and after removing the skin, 100% of the mucilage is retained and they are sun-dried again, containing the fermented wine aroma of natural processing, the clean mouthfeel of washed processing, and the sweetness of honey processing.
The above is the relevant information about honey processing compiled by Qianjia Coffee. I hope coffee fans who read this article can also better understand the relevant knowledge about honey processing, so that in the future they can choose coffee beans that suit their own taste. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will compare the differences in flavor performance between coffee beans processed by anaerobic honey processing and raisin honey processing.
FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Musician Series Mozart
Region: Costa Rica Tarrazu
Farm: Canet Farm
Altitude: 1800m
Processing method: Anaerobic honey processing
Grade: SHB
Variety: H1
Harvest season: 2020 new crop
FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Musician Series Bach
Region: Costa Rica Tarrazu
Farm: Canet Farm
Altitude: 1950m
Processing method: Raisin honey processing
Grade: Strictly Hard Bean SHB
Variety: Caturra
FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis
Roaster: Yangjia 800N semi-direct fire
Preheat the drum to 170°C and charge. Adjust the gas to 120, open the damper to 3, turning point at 1'36", maintain the gas; at 140°C keep the gas unchanged and open the damper to 4. At 5'55" it turns yellow, the grassy smell disappears, and it enters the dehydration stage. At 151°C lower the gas to 100 and keep the damper at 4. At 176°C adjust the gas to 85 and keep the damper unchanged. At 8'15" dehydration is complete, the bean surface appears wrinkled and marked with dark streaks, and the toasted bread smell turns into coffee aroma, which is the prelude to first crack. At this time, pay attention to listening for the sound of first crack. At 9'01" first crack begins, open the damper fully to 5, and keep the gas unchanged. After first crack, development time is 1'45", and drop at 193°C.
Brewing Parameters
Dripper: HARIO V60
Water temperature: 90°C
Dose: 15 grams
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Grind size: 80% passing a standard No. 20 sieve (caster sugar size)
Brewing method: Use 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom, pour in a small stream in circles until 125 grams, then pause in stages. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 225 grams and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Start timing at the beginning of the bloom.) Extraction time is 2'00".
Bach brewed flavor: It smells like the fermented aroma of rice wine. When drinking, it has the sweet-and-sour sensation of ripe tropical fruit and berries, along with nut and cream flavors. The aftertaste brings caramel, and the finish has a faint floral aroma.
Mozart brewed flavor: It smells of rich black grape aroma. On the palate there are raisin and sweet orange, and as the temperature changes, the fermented wine aroma and osmanthus aroma become more obvious.
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
