Coffee education
Coffee Processing Guide
What happens to the coffee cherry after harvest, and how it can shape the cup.
What coffee processing means
The coffee bean is a seed inside a fruit called a coffee cherry. After harvest, producers remove the fruit layers and dry the seed for storage and roasting. The timing of fruit removal, the amount of sticky mucilage left on the seed, and the conditions during fermentation and drying distinguish the methods below.
| Method | What happens | What you may notice in the cup |
|---|---|---|
| Washed | Fruit skin and pulp are removed; mucilage is removed through fermentation, washing or mechanical methods before drying. | Often a clear expression of acidity and origin. Actual flavors depend on the lot. |
| Natural | The whole cherry dries around the seed; the dried fruit is removed afterward. | Can emphasize fruit sweetness and a fuller mouthfeel. |
| Honey | Skin and pulp are removed, while some sticky fruit mucilage remains during drying. No honey is required or added. | Can combine sweetness and body with a clear fruit character. |
| Anaerobic | Fermentation occurs with oxygen limited or absent, generally in a closed vessel. It can be combined with natural, honey or washed processing. | Can produce distinctive fruit, floral or fermented notes; the result depends on the producer’s controls. |
| Co-ferment | Another ingredient is introduced during coffee fermentation. The ingredient and method should be disclosed. | May add a recognizable layer connected to the ingredient. |
How Farouk Café uses these terms
Pink Honey Arabica is named for the parchment’s pink appearance after depulping. Whole cherries spend 80 hours in anaerobic fermentation; the coffee is then depulped and dried with mucilage retained. The name does not mean pink food coloring or added honey.
Lavender Co-Ferment Arabica is fermented for 100 hours with dried lavender flowers. We disclose that addition because lavender is used in processing, while the final brewed flavor remains a separate sensory observation.
Anaerobic Natural Robusta combines whole-cherry natural processing with two low-oxygen fermentation stages. Anaerobic Honey Robusta keeps mucilage on depulped coffee and includes a low-oxygen fermentation stage. The producer’s method and tasting notes will be checked against each lot Farouk Café actually purchases.
These four lots are shown in the Shop as Coming Soon until each lot is secured.
A few useful facts
- Honey processing takes its name from sticky mucilage on the parchment, not from adding honey to the coffee.
- Anaerobic describes the oxygen conditions during a fermentation step. Natural, honey and washed describe fruit removal and drying. A coffee can accurately carry both terms.
- Tasting notes such as peach, cocoa or lavender describe perceived flavors; they do not by themselves prove an ingredient was added. For our lavender co-ferment, dried lavender is actually used in processing and is named separately.
- Processing labels are a starting point for exploring flavor, not a guarantee. Two coffees with the same process can taste quite different.
Looking at roasted beans
Beans in the same bag can vary somewhat in size, shape and shade because of variety, density, processing and roast behavior. A large spread of very pale and very dark beans may be worth asking about, but appearance alone cannot establish roast quality. Listen to the cup: aroma, sweetness, balance and any unpleasant flavors give better evidence. Surface splits or cracks can form as a bean expands during roasting and are not automatically defects.