What Is Honey Process Coffee? White, Yellow, Red and Black Honey
What honey process means on a coffee bag, how it sits between washed and natural, what the white, yellow, red and black grades mean, and how it changes the taste. About an 8-minute read.
Honey process coffee is coffee whose skin is removed but whose sticky fruit layer, called mucilage, is left on the seed while it dries. No honey is involved. The name comes from that sticky, golden coating. It sits between washed and natural coffee, so honeys usually taste sweeter and rounder than washed coffees but cleaner than naturals. Labels like white, yellow, red and black honey describe how much fruit was left on and how it was dried.
The bag says "red honey" and the tasting notes say grape and vanilla, but nothing on it mentions bees. Honey process is one of the most confusing labels in coffee, partly because the color names aren't used the same way everywhere.
The short version: honey process is a middle path between the two classic methods, washed and natural. Producers remove the cherry's skin, then dry the seed with some or all of the sticky fruit still attached. How much fruit they leave, and how they dry it, shapes the cup.
If processing is new to you, start with our lesson on origin, processing and roast. This lesson zooms in on honey processing: how it's made, what the colors mean and what to expect when you brew it.
What is honey process coffee?
Honey process coffee is coffee that dries with its sticky fruit layer still on the seed. Producers remove the cherry's outer skin, keep some or all of the mucilage underneath, and dry the seed like that. There is no honey in it. The name describes how sticky and golden the beans look while drying.
Every coffee bean is the seed of a coffee cherry. Under the skin is a thin layer of pulp and then the mucilage, a sugary, gluey layer that clings to the seed's papery parchment. Washed coffee has all of that scrubbed or fermented off before drying. Natural coffee keeps the whole cherry on. Honey keeps the mucilage but loses the skin.
Coffee Review's Kenneth Davids traces the term "honey" to Central America. Brazil uses the same basic method under a different name, "pulped natural".
How is honey process coffee made?
Ripe cherries are run through a depulper to remove the skin, usually within 24 hours of harvest. The seeds, still coated in mucilage, go straight to patios or raised beds to dry. They are turned often while the sugary coating ferments and dries, until the seed reaches about 11% moisture. That takes roughly two to four weeks.
- Pickers harvest ripe cherries, and the lot is sorted to remove unripe or damaged fruit.
- A depulper strips the skin and some of the pulp. Some producers also remove a chosen amount of mucilage at this stage.
- The sticky seeds are spread on patios or raised beds. Perfect Daily Grind's sources recommend thin layers, since thick layers trap heat and can cause unwanted fermentation.
- Workers turn the coffee regularly so it dries evenly and doesn't stick together or grow mold.
- When the seeds reach about 11% moisture, the dried mucilage and parchment are milled off before export. Cafe Imports puts average drying at 18 to 25 days.
Honey coffees take more labor than washed coffees and need watching. Rain is a real risk. Coffees that dry with fruit attached need longer to dry out after unexpected rain, and humidity can lead to fermentation defects and mold. Cafe Imports also notes the finished green coffee often looks uneven, which is normal for the method.
What do white, yellow, red and black honey mean?
The colors describe how much mucilage is left on the seed and, for some producers, how the coffee is dried. White and yellow honey keep the least fruit and taste closest to washed coffee. Red and black honey keep the most and taste sweeter and heavier. Beans with more mucilage also dry to a darker color.
| Grade | Mucilage left on | Drying notes | Flavor tendency |
|---|---|---|---|
| White honey | Very little, a thin coating of about 10% | Little sticky coating left to dry | Cleanest and brightest, closest to washed |
| Yellow or golden honey | Most still on, with roughly 20% to 50% removed, per Coffee Review | Dries to a golden color | Balanced, a bit brighter, lighter body |
| Red honey | Nearly all | Dries reddish, faster than black | Sweeter, medium body, lively acidity |
| Black honey | All or nearly all | Dried slower than red, often in shade to control heat | Sweetest and heaviest, closest to a natural |
Grade descriptions from Coffee Review (2016) and Perfect Daily Grind (2019). Farms define these grades differently, so treat them as a guide.
These grades are not a formal standard. Some producers define them by how much mucilage they leave. Others also change drying speed and shade. Cafe Imports' guide skips white honey altogether and starts at yellow. When Coffee Review cupped honeys of every color in 2016, their idea that darker grades would taste fruitier was only partly supported. Use the color as a hint and the roaster's tasting notes as your main guide.
How is honey process different from washed and natural?
Honey processing sits between the two. Washed coffee loses all its fruit before drying and tastes clean and bright. Natural coffee dries inside the whole cherry and tastes fruity and heavy. Honey coffee loses the skin but keeps the sticky mucilage, so it usually lands in the middle: sweet, round and fruity, with more clarity than a natural.
| Washed | Honey | Natural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skin and pulp | Removed | Skin removed, some pulp may remain | Left on |
| Mucilage during drying | Removed | Some or all left on | Left on inside the cherry |
| Average drying time | About 7 to 15 days in the sun | About 18 to 25 days | Up to about 30 days |
| Typical flavor | Clean, crisp, bright | Sweet, rounded, brown sugar, stone fruit | Fruity, jammy, sometimes winey |
| Body | Lighter | Medium to full | Heavy |
Drying times from Cafe Imports' guides to washed, honey and natural processing. They vary with weather and farm.
Is honey process the same as pulped natural?
They are close cousins. Both remove the skin and dry the seed with mucilage on. Coffee Review notes that Brazil popularized the method and prefers the name "pulped natural", while "honey" is the Central American term. Cafe Imports compares black honey most closely to Brazilian pulped natural.
What does honey process coffee taste like?
Honey process coffee usually tastes sweet and rounded, often with brown sugar, caramel, honey or stone fruit notes and a softer acidity than washed coffee. It has more body than a washed coffee and less wild fruit than a natural. Darker honey grades tend to taste sweeter and heavier than lighter ones.
In a 2012 tasting report, Coffee Review found the honey coffees rounder in acidity than the washed norm, with less citrusy brightness and more chocolate, aromatic wood and sweetness. Cafe Imports lists fruity, jammy or stewed-fruit notes, caramel or burnt-sugar sweetness and nuttiness as common. Perfect Daily Grind's 2016 primer says honeys often taste of honey or brown sugar, and that more mucilage typically means a sweeter cup.
Coffee Review's Davids also concluded that honey processing isn't inherently better than washing, only different. He described its effect as "a gently exotic, mildly unpredictable complexity". That is a fair way to think about it. Honey coffees are a good next step if washed light roasts taste too sharp to you but naturals taste too much like fruit punch.
To brew one, start the way you would any light or medium roast. Pour-over shows off the sweetness and clarity. A French press brings out the body.
Where does honey process coffee come from?
Honey processing is most closely tied to Costa Rica, where small farms began running their own micromills and used the method for small, refined lots. Brazil developed the same idea as pulped natural. Today it is increasingly common in El Salvador and Honduras too.
Coffee Review describes Costa Rica's honey coffees as part of a "micromill revolution", in which farmers began processing their own coffee. Running their own mills gave them control over how much mucilage to leave and how to dry it.
Cafe Imports says producers mainly in Costa Rica, and increasingly in El Salvador and Honduras, now remove set amounts of mucilage to shape a coffee's profile. Coffee Review dates Brazil's pulped natural method to roughly the 1990s, pioneered about 15 to 20 years before its 2012 report.
Honey coffees are still a small share of what most roasters sell. Only two of the coffees in our catalog list a honey process. In our analysis of 124 coffees, about 1 in 5 that publish a process use an experimental method of some kind, so most still list plain washed or natural.
Which honey process coffees can you try?
The most useful honey coffee in our catalog is Onyx Coffee Lab's El Salvador Santa Rosa Honey, because Onyx also sells a washed coffee from the same farm and variety. Brewing the two side by side is the clearest way to taste what honey processing adds. A Costa Rican natural rounds out the comparison.
Onyx Coffee Lab El Salvador Santa Rosa Honey is a red honey Pacamara, and the roaster lists red grape, rose, mulberry and vanilla. Its washed sibling, Onyx Coffee Lab El Salvador Santa Rosa, is also a Pacamara, with roaster notes of grape, rose and deep sweetness. The honey version's extra mulberry and vanilla notes hint at what the mucilage contributes.
For a blend that uses honey processing as one part, Black & White Coffee Roasters The Future, Halloween Candy combines co-fermented, honey and washed coffees from Colombia and Ethiopia. The roaster lists watermelon candy and lemon candy.
To taste Costa Rica's fruit-forward side, the Coffee Bros. Costa Rica Las Lajas Natural is a medium roast with roaster notes of berry, cocoa and toffee. Onyx Coffee Lab's Las Lajas Natural lists pineapple, blueberry and milk chocolate. Both are naturals, so they show how much further the fruit goes when the whole cherry stays on.
Frequently asked questions
Is honey process coffee made with honey?
No. Honey process coffee contains no honey. The name comes from the sticky, golden fruit layer, called mucilage, that stays on the seed while it dries. Some honey coffees do taste of honey or brown sugar, which adds to the confusion.
What does honey process coffee taste like?
Usually sweet and rounded, with notes like brown sugar, caramel, honey or stone fruit, a softer acidity than washed coffee and more body. It is less intensely fruity than a natural. Darker grades like red and black honey tend to taste sweeter and heavier.
What is the difference between honey and natural process?
Natural coffee dries inside the whole cherry, skin and all. Honey coffee has the skin removed first and dries with only the sticky mucilage on. Naturals usually taste fruitier and heavier. Honeys are typically cleaner and more balanced.
What is black honey coffee?
Black honey is the grade that keeps all or nearly all of the mucilage on the seed. It is often dried slowly, sometimes in shade to control heat. Black honeys tend to be the sweetest and heaviest honey coffees and the closest in style to a natural.
Is honey process the same as pulped natural?
They are nearly the same idea. Both remove the skin and dry the seed with mucilage on. "Pulped natural" is the name used in Brazil, and "honey" is the Central American term, with color grades that describe how much mucilage is left.
Sources: Coffee Review, Honey-Processed Coffees (2016) · Coffee Review, Honey and Pulped Natural Coffees (2012) · Cafe Imports, Honey Process (n.d.) · Perfect Daily Grind, Exploring naturals, pulped naturals and honeys (2019) · Perfect Daily Grind, Washed, Natural, Honey: Coffee Processing 101 (2016) · Cafe Imports, Washed Process (n.d.)