If you've been following our activity push over the past couple of days, you may have noticed that Front Street's two shops on 🍑Bao and 天🐱 have both 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 version and the sun-dried version we previously listed?Then Front Street saw in the backend that some friends,holding this very question,ordered both the sun-dried and washedDiamond Mountainto take home and compare. So back to the question itself: what exactly is the difference between washed and sun-dried coffee?Well today, Front Street 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 the processing steps~Differences in the processing flow
The sun-dried process is quite simple! As Front Street 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 process 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 undergofloatation, by soaking the coffee cherries in water to screen out the unripe ones. The selected cherries are then put into a depulper to remove the skin and pulp! Once that's done, the beans that still retain their mucilage and parchment layer are placed in water to soak and remove the mucilage;
after soaking for a certain period, these beans are transferred to another clean water tank, and then manually stirred to remove any mucilage remaining on the surface of the beans. Once removal is complete, these beans with only the parchment layer are moved to a drying yard to be dried in the sun, and 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 process is complete!I believe from Front Street's introduction above, you can see that washed processing simply adds the steps of removing the skin, pulp, and mucilage before drying the beans. And by adding such a step, the drying time of the beans is greatly shortened and the degree of fermentation is greatly reduced, which is one of the reasons causing the difference in taste between sun-dried and washed.
So, what difference is there in flavor between washed and sun-dried coffee beans? Next, Front Street will use the Front Street Hacienda La Esmeralda sun-dried/washed Diamond Mountain from our bean list to compare for everyone the difference between these two different processes!
(Sun-dried Diamond Mountain on the left, washed Diamond Mountain on the right)Since both belong to traditional processing and their roast levels are comparable, the parameters Front Street used for this brewing were exactly the same, so we'll skip the brewing process and go straight to the parameters as follows:Beans used for brewing: Front Street Hacienda La Esmeralda · Washed Diamond Mountain / Front Street Hacienda La Esmeralda · Sun-dried Diamond MountainGrind level: 10 on the EK43, 80% pass-through rate on a No. 20 sieve, fine caster sugar grindCoffee-to-water ratio: 1:15Brewing water temperature: 92°CBrewing method: three-pourFront Street Hacienda La Esmeralda · Sun-dried Diamond Mountain:On the palate, Front Street can clearly taste fruit aromas reminiscent of citrus, persimmon, and berries, with a texture as solid as honey, and a finish giving off cocoa and fermented aromas. As the temperature drops slightly, the sweetness becomes more and more pronounced. Overall, the comprehensive evaluation is prominent aroma, rich layers, and balanced taste.
Front Street Hacienda La Esmeralda · Washed Diamond Mountain:On the palate, Front Street first tastes a fresh and bright acidity like grapefruit and lemon, with a hint of elegant 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 cup of very refreshing fruit green tea.From the comparison above, I believe it's not hard to see that the taste of washed and sun-dried Diamond Mountain does have certain differences. The sun-dried Diamond Mountain has richer layers and a more balanced taste, while the washed Diamond Mountain has a cleaner mouthfeel and a fresher flavor.Why do sun-dried and washed differ in this way?
Since sun-dried processing keeps the skin, pulp, and mucilage wrapping the beans during drying, the overall drying time is relatively long. During drying, the sugars in the pulp and mucilage are affected by sunlight and undergo fermentation, bringing richer flavor expression to the coffee. And because the drying time is longer, the overall fermentation degree of the coffee is deeper, so besides the 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 into drying, so the drying time is relatively shorter and the fermentation degree is not as deep. Because the fermentation degree is not deep, what the coffee expresses is more the bean's own aroma, and it is cleaner. This is why people often say that the flavor of washed coffee is the basic flavor of a producing region.
Then some friends may notice that compared to the sun-dried Diamond Mountain, the washed one seems to taste a bit more sour. Yes! But the main reason causing coffee's acidity comes from the roast level. Although both are medium-light roasts, compared to the sun-dried, Front Street used a slightly lighter roast level for the washed Diamond Mountain, because this better highlights its floral and fruity charm. The darker the coffee's roast level, the less acidity the coffee has, and the lighter the roast, the more acidity, which is why the washed Diamond Mountain is 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, and thus the roast level will be deeper. Naturally, then, the coffee doesn't taste as sour. So compared to the influence of processing, what actually determines the direction of coffee's taste is more the roast level of the coffee beans.But whether sun-dried or washed, the flavor expression of coffee has its own characteristics, so there is no distinction of better or worse, and no comparability at all—which processing is better mainly depends on personal taste. So then, Front Street's question is here! 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.
