What is Honey Process?

Among the many ways coffee cherries are transformed into beans, the Honey Process offers something truly unique. Neither fully washed nor fully natural, it’s a method that creates coffees with a character all their own — often layered, balanced, and full of subtle surprises. Its name hints at the sticky steps involved, but the real magic lies in how this process bridges tradition and innovation, bringing out flavors that reflect the care and creativity of the producer.

Honey Process

Let’s dig into the process as we take a look at the structure of the coffee cherry.
After being picked, the outer skin is removed and the beans go through the drying process with  a sticky structure called mucilage surrounding the coffee bean. Compared to Natural process, this makes drying time shorter as well as using less water compared to the washed process. Also it is easier to adjust the length of drying time and the amount of sticky layers remaining after depulping, which make a difference of the final flavour.

Honey process is categorized into White (10%), Yellow (25%), Red (50%) and Black(75%-100%) depending on both the amount of mucilage left on the bean as well as the drying time.  Generally speaking, Yellow Honey is dried in an  environment where it is sunny and warm, while Red and Black Honey are dried in the shade slowing down the drying phase. The more mucilage left around the beans, the longer the time needed to dry, again impacting the amount of sugars in contact with the coffee.