If you've been following our activity updates over the past couple of days, you may have noticed that both of Front Street Coffee's shops on 🍑Bao and Tian🐱 have launched the washed Diamond Mountain from Hacienda La Esmeralda. And then some friends got very curious: "Both are Diamond Mountain, so what's the difference between this washed one and the sun-dried one that was listed before?Then Front Street Coffee noticed in the backend that some friends,holding this very question,ordered both the sun-dried and washed Diamond Mountain at the same time to compare at home. So back to the question itself—what exactly is the difference between washed and sun-dried coffee?Well today, Front Street Coffee will use the Front Street Hacienda La Esmeralda Diamond Mountain from our bean list to answer these two questions for everyone! First, let's review the differences in processing steps~Differences in the Processing FlowThe sun-dried process is quite simple! As Front Street Coffee often mentions, it's the same way we sun-dry peanuts. Conventional sun-dried processing means sending the harvested coffee cherries to a drying facility, then spreading them directly on the ground or on drying beds to dry in the sun. Once the coffee has dried to a certain degree, it can be collected, and then a huller is used to remove the parchment layer wrapping the coffee beans—and the sun-dried processing is complete.The washed process, on the other hand, is relatively more complicated, with several extra steps compared to sun-dried. After the coffee cherries are harvested, they first undergo floatation, soaking the cherries in water to screen out the unripe ones. Then the selected cherries are thrown intoa depulperto remove the skin and pulp! Once that's done, the coffee beans—still retaining their mucilage and parchment layer—are placed in water to soak and remove the mucilage;after soaking for a certain amount of time, these beans are transferred to another clean water tank, and then manually stirred to remove the mucilage remaining on the surface of the beans. Once removal is complete, these beans—now with only the parchment layer—are moved to a drying yard for drying. After drying to a certain degree, they can be collected, and finally a huller is used to remove the parchment layer from the beans—and the washed processing is complete!I believe from Front Street Coffee's introduction above, everyone can see that washed processing is simply adding the steps of removing the skin, pulp, and mucilage before drying the coffee beans. And by adding this step, the drying time of the beans is greatly shortened, and the degree of fermentation is greatly reduced—this is also one of the reasons for the flavor differences between sun-dried and washed coffee.So, what difference does washed versus sun-dried coffee have in flavor? Next, Front Street Coffee will use the Front Street Hacienda La Esmeralda Sun-Dried/Washed Diamond Mountain from our bean list to compare the differences between these two processing methods for everyone!(Left is Sun-Dried Diamond Mountain, right is Washed Diamond Mountain)Since both belong to traditional processing and have comparable roast levels, Front Street Coffee used identical parameters for this brewing session. We'll skip the brewing process and go straight to the parameters, as follows:Beans used: Front Street Hacienda La Esmeralda · Washed Diamond Mountain / Front Street Hacienda La Esmeralda · Sun-Dried Diamond MountainGrind size: 10 on the EK43, 80% passing a No. 20 sieve, caster sugar grindCoffee-to-water ratio: 1:15Brewing method: three-pourFront Street Hacienda La Esmeralda · Sun-Dried Diamond Mountain:On the palate, Front Street Coffee can clearly taste fruit aromas reminiscent of citrus, persimmon, and berries, with a body as substantial as honey, and a finish giving off cocoa and fermented aromas. As the temperature drops slightly, the sweetness becomes more pronounced. Overall, the comprehensive evaluation is: prominent aroma, rich layers, and balanced flavor.Front Street Hacienda La Esmeralda · Washed Diamond Mountain:On the palate, Front Street Coffee first tastes a fresh and bright acidity like grapefruit and lemon, with a subtle floral fragrance, a clean and smooth mouthfeel, and a finish of green tea and cocoa aromas. Overall, the comprehensive evaluation is: bright acidity, clean mouthfeel, and fresh flavor—like drinking a very refreshing fruity green tea.From the comparison above, I believe it's not hard to see that the washed and sun-dried Diamond Mountain do have certain differences in taste. Sun-Dried Diamond Mountain has richer layers and a more balanced flavor, while Washed Diamond Mountain has a cleaner mouthfeel and a fresher taste.Why do sun-dried and washed coffees have such differences?Because sun-dried processing keeps the skin, pulp, and mucilage wrapped around the coffee beans during drying, the overall drying time is longer. During the drying process, the sugars in the pulp and mucilage are affected by sunlight and undergo fermentation, bringing the coffee a richer flavor expression. And because the drying time is longer, the overall fermentation degree of the coffee is deeper—besides complex and varied fruit flavors, the coffee also carries a certain fermented aroma.Washed processing, on the other hand, removes the skin, pulp, and mucilage before putting the beans out to dry, so the drying time is relatively shorter and the fermentation degree is not as deep. Because the fermentation degree isn't deep, what the coffee expresses is more the bean's own aroma, and it's cleaner. This is why people often say that the flavor of washed coffee is the basic flavor of a region.Then some friends might notice that compared to the sun-dried Diamond Mountain, the washed one seems a bit more sour. Yes! But the main cause of coffee's acidity comes from the roast level. Although both are medium-light roasts, compared to the sun-dried, Front Street Coffee uses a slightly lighter roast level for the washed Diamond Mountain, because this better highlights its floral and fruity notes. The darker the roast, the less acidity the coffee has; the lighter the roast, the more acidity—so the washed Diamond Mountain is only slightly more sour.Even if the same roasting curve is used, sun-dried beans will undergo a more complete caramelization reaction due to having more sugars attached, resulting in a deeper roast level. Naturally, then, the coffee doesn't taste as sour. So compared to the influence of processing, what actually determines the direction of coffee's flavor is more the roast level of the beans.But whether sun-dried or washed, coffee's flavor expression has its own characteristics, so there's no good or bad between them—they're not comparable at all. Which processing is better mainly depends on personal taste. So then, Front Street Coffee's question is: You, in front of the screen—do you prefer washed, or do you prefer sun-dried? The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
