Honey process is a middle ground: the fruit pulp is removed, but part of the sticky mucilage dries on the bean. Depending on how much remains, it's classified as White, Yellow, Red, or Black Honey.

What Is Honey Process and What Variants Exist?

Honey process is a middle ground: the fruit pulp is removed, but part of the sticky mucilage dries on the bean. Depending on how much remains, it’s classified as White, Yellow, Red, or Black Honey.

Why that matters

The honey process (Spanish: miel) combines elements of washed and natural processing. After harvest, the cherry’s fruit pulp is mechanically removed — just like in washed processing. But instead of dissolving the mucilage layer in fermentation tanks, it stays on the bean and dries with it. This mucilage is sticky and golden-coloured — it looks like honey, hence the name.

The variants differ by how much mucilage remains on the bean. White Honey retains the least (roughly 10–20 %) and dries quickly. Yellow Honey sits at 20–50 %. Red Honey at 50–80 %. Black Honey keeps nearly all the mucilage and dries the slowest — often 2–3 weeks, with regular turning.

The more mucilage remains, the more fruit sugar can migrate into the bean, and the sweeter and more complex the coffee becomes. White Honey tastes similar to a washed coffee — clear, with light sweetness. Black Honey approaches a natural — sweet, full-bodied, with fruity notes, but without the wild fermentation flavours of a full natural.

Costa Rica is the epicentre of honey processing. Processors there perfected the method in the 2000s and systematised the different gradations. Honey process is now also used in Central America, Colombia, and parts of Brazil.

The advantage over washed: less water consumption. The advantage over natural: more controllable, lower risk of off-flavours. Honey process is a compromise that brings together the best of both worlds.

At Green Wall Coffee

At our café on Sophienstraße 27 in Berlin-Lichtenberg, we regularly have honey-processed coffees on offer — especially as espresso, where the pronounced sweetness of a Red or Black Honey works beautifully. When guests want to understand the differences between washed, natural, and honey, I pour three coffees from the same origin side by side. The processing changes the flavour so dramatically that they taste like three entirely different coffees.

Related Questions

• What is washed processing?
• What is natural processing?
• How does the processing method affect flavour?

More depth on this topic in the article How to Make Perfect Espresso. Or stop by at Sophienstraße 27 — Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat 10am–5pm.