{"id":53521,"date":"2025-05-26T14:25:32","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T21:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blindcoffeeroasters.com\/?p=53521"},"modified":"2025-05-28T11:18:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T18:18:18","slug":"how-coffee-processing-changes-the-flavor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blindcoffeeroasters.com\/bcr\/how-coffee-processing-changes-the-flavor\/","title":{"rendered":"How Coffee Processing Changes the Flavor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

We’ve been learning a lot<\/a> about how to brew coffee<\/a> to get all of the best flavors<\/a> out of it.\u00a0 But how do you know what kind of flavors a coffee should have?\u00a0\u00a0Some of the flavor is determined by growing region and altitude; we’ll get into that later.\u00a0 Another factor in coffee’s flavor is the processing method.<\/p>\n

Processing is what happens to the coffee fruit between being picked and being bagged up for sale.\u00a0 Processing determines how much of the coffee cherry gets left on the bean.<\/p>\n

There are three major ways to process coffee:\u00a0 washed, natural, and honey.\u00a0 You’ve probably seen those words on our bags.\u00a0 There are some less common processing methods too that produce some really interesting flavors.<\/p>\n

Washed<\/h4>\n

Washed process coffees are exactly what they sound like.\u00a0 Coffee producers wash the coffee fruit off of the beans, and then spread the clean beans on patios to dry.\u00a0 Washed process coffees have a clean flavor and mouth feel.\u00a0\u00a0They typically have more of the chocolatey and nutty flavor notes.\u00a0 \u00a0Try out our washed process coffees here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Natural<\/h4>\n

Natural process coffees leave the fruit on the coffee bean while it dries.\u00a0\u00a0This imparts some of the fruity taste from the cherry to the coffee bean itself.\u00a0\u00a0Once the bean dries, producers remove the coffee cherry.\u00a0 The natural process is great because it uses the least amount of water, and thus is more sustainable.\u00a0 It’s a great option for regions with low rainfall.\u00a0 Looking for those fruity flavors?\u00a0\u00a0Try our natural process coffees<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Honey<\/h4>\n

Honey process coffees are sort of like a hybrid of the washed and natural processes.\u00a0\u00a0Farmers leave some of the coffee fruit on the bean. Then the farmers wash the coffee bean with some water and the mucilage from the fruit (this is the \u2018honey\u2019 part).<\/p>\n

There are 3 kinds of honey processes:\u00a0 yellow, red, and black.\u00a0 Yellow honeys are processed just as described, with a little bit of washing with the fruit’s mucilage.\u00a0\u00a0Red honeys are left to ferment for a short period of time before being washed and dried.\u00a0 Black honeys are fermented for longer and then washed and dried.\u00a0 Honey processed coffee tends to have a lot of sweetness and a hint of fruit.\u00a0\u00a0Shop honey process coffees here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Anaerobic<\/h4>\n

Another, newer way to process coffee is the anaerobic method.\u00a0 Anaerobic can start with washed, natural, or honey processed coffee.\u00a0 After that initial process, coffee producers put the coffee beans into tanks with water, and then force out all the oxygen.\u00a0 The beans ferment for a few days without oxygen.<\/p>\n

As fermentation builds pressure in the tank, it forces the sugars and fruit flavors into the bean.\u00a0 Next producers dry the beans.\u00a0 These coffees have a strong fruit or spice flavor with a wine-y quality to them.\u00a0 Anaerobic process coffee typically comes in small batches.\u00a0 We love to carry it when we can, but usually have them only for a limited time.\u00a0\u00a0You can find ours here if you’re lucky enough to catch it at the right time<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0 Sometimes farmers add fruit to the anaerobic process for a Co-Ferment which also increases the fruity notes.<\/p>\n

Wet Hulled<\/h4>\n

Wet hulled processing is rarely done outside Indonesia.\u00a0 That\u2019s because Indonesia\u2019s climate is so rainy and humid that other processing methods, which usually involve drying the beans on the farm, are not feasible.\u00a0 Instead, the farmers pick the cherries and run them through a de-pulper that removes the skin.\u00a0 Next they ferment the beans overnight to break down the fruit.\u00a0 Then they dry the coffee to just 50% moisture content before sending it to the coffee mill.<\/p>\n

At the mill, they dry the coffee a little more and then send it through a wet huller to remove the parchment layer around the bean.\u00a0 Finally, they air dry the coffee to 12% moisture and it is ready to sell.\u00a0 Wet hull processing gives the beans their classic Indonesian funk and low acidity.\u00a0 Pick up our wet hulled beans here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Decaf<\/h4>\n

Finally, there’s the decaffeination process.\u00a0\u00a0There’s a few different methods.\u00a0 Our decaf is a\u00a0sugar cane decaffeination process. Here\u2019s how the sugar cane decaffeination process works: The farmers soak the green coffee beans in water and ethyl acetate.\u00a0 That might sound like a scary chemical, but it’s actually a naturally occurring compound that comes from fermenting sugar cane. Then the ethyl acetate binds with the caffeine and pulls it out of the bean. The sugar cane process removes 97% of the caffeine, and it\u2019s organic.<\/p>\n

Using sugar cane gives the coffee more flavor and body than other kinds of decaffeination processes. And because producers do this process on the farm, it lowers the carbon footprint.\u00a0\u00a0You can find our decaf here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

We really think it’s remarkable all of the flavors that you can find in coffee.\u00a0 And we love trying them out and sharing them with you!\u00a0 Here’s to making great coffee at home!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’ve been learning a lot about how to brew coffee to get all of the best flavors out of it.\u00a0 But how do you know what kind of flavors a coffee should have?\u00a0\u00a0Some of the flavor is determined by growing region and altitude; we’ll get into that later.\u00a0 Another factor in coffee’s flavor is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":497,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[344,377,346],"tags":[379,382,384,403],"class_list":["post-53521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-about-coffee","category-great-coffee-at-home","category-processing-methods","tag-4th-wave-coffee","tag-coffee-at-home","tag-great-coffee-at-home","tag-processing-methods"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blindcoffeeroasters.com\/bcr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blindcoffeeroasters.com\/bcr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blindcoffeeroasters.com\/bcr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blindcoffeeroasters.com\/bcr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/497"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blindcoffeeroasters.com\/bcr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53521"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.blindcoffeeroasters.com\/bcr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53527,"href":"https:\/\/www.blindcoffeeroasters.com\/bcr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53521\/revisions\/53527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blindcoffeeroasters.com\/bcr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blindcoffeeroasters.com\/bcr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blindcoffeeroasters.com\/bcr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}