Coffee processing: washed, natural, honey, and modern fermentations

A coffee bean is the seed of a fruit. After harvest, the producer has to remove the pulp, the mucilage, and the husk, then dry the coffee until it is stable.

During these steps, the coffee interacts with water, oxygen, temperature, microorganisms, the sugars in the mucilage, and time. That is why processing is not just logistics. It is a real part of building the flavor.

In washed processing, the coffee is depulped, fermented to remove the mucilage, washed, and then dried.

In the cup, washed can bring:

• clarity;
• cleaner acidity;
• a more transparent profile;
• better separation between notes;
• less of a fermented-fruit impression.

Washed does not automatically mean "better." It means the processing puts more emphasis on the coffee's natural structure and less on the influence of pulp left in contact with the seed.

In natural processing, the coffee is dried inside the whole cherry. The pulp stays in contact with the seed during drying.

In the cup, natural can bring:

• more obvious fruit;
• more body;
• a rounder sweetness;
• notes of ripe fruit or vinous notes;
• sometimes more perceived fermentation.

Natural takes a lot of attention. If drying is not well controlled, the result can become unclean or unstable.

In honey processing, the coffee is depulped, but some of the mucilage stays on the seed during drying.

In the cup, honey can bring:

• high sweetness;
• a rounder body than washed;
• more fruit than many washed coffees;
• more clarity than some naturals.

Terms such as white honey, yellow honey, red honey, or black honey describe, broadly, how much mucilage is left and how drying is managed.

Anaerobic fermentation means the fermentation takes place in an environment with limited or no oxygen. This does not describe the whole process, but a condition in which the fermentation happens.

A coffee can be washed anaerobic, natural anaerobic, or part of a more complex protocol. That is why the term "anaerobic" should be explained, not used as a vague label.

In the cup, controlled fermentations can bring:

• more obvious fruit;
• more intense acidity;
• floral or tropical notes;
• more unusual profiles;
• sometimes winey, boozy, or candy-like sensations.

Co-fermentation means that during fermentation the coffee interacts with other ingredients, cultures, or natural aromatic sources. These can be fruits, musts, starter cultures, yeasts, or selected bacteria, depending on the protocol.

At OVRIDE we do not hide co-fermentation. The problem is not the method but a lack of transparency. If a coffee is co-fermented, we want to say so clearly.

Culturing is a modern processing method practiced by producers such as Café Uba in Colombia. In the lots we have from Julio Madrid and Julio Andrés Quiceno, Culturing appears as a controlled fermentation protocol with starter cultures and, in some cases, ingredients prepared for fermentation.

Editorially, we treat it as a distinct method and explain it separately.

Nitro Fermentation is a variation within the Culturing family in which the anaerobic fermentation is controlled with the help of nitrogen. It sometimes appears as Nitro Washed too, because the process keeps a washed logic: the coffee is depulped, fermented under control, then washed and dried.

In the OVRIDE range, Lubeniță is the main example of Nitro Washed.

Sugarcane decaf is a decaffeination method that uses ethyl acetate derived from sugarcane. It is important to explain it separately, because "decaf" does not automatically mean coffee without character.

Processing influences taste, but it does not explain everything. The same processing can give different results depending on:

• variety;
• cherry ripeness;
• hygiene of the process;
• temperature;
• fermentation time;
• drying;
• stabilization;
• transport and storage;
• roasting.

That is why we choose transparent producers and lots we can taste, not just interesting labels.

• Co-fermented: Logan, Juicy Madness, Lumen Bloom, Peach Radiance, Lubeniță
• Culturing (Infused): Captain Mark
• Culturing: Logan, Juicy Madness, Tropical, Peach Radiance, SAKURA Legends
• Nitro / Nitro Washed: Lubeniță, SAKURA Legends
• Natural: Buena Vista, Gesha Farm, Beku Abel Natural
• Washed: Beku Abel Washed, Malitza
• Sugarcane Decaf: Popayan Decaf; for the method, see the guide to decaf coffee

Co-ferment

Culturing

Nitro Fermentation

See Experimental