Understanding the Honey Process in Raw Coffee Beans: The Role of Wet Hulling

The way in which raw coffee beans are processed makes a huge impact on how the final product tastes, as well as its texture and complexity. Among these honey processes have been very popular in the coffee industry. Similarly, the wet hulling process is also absolutely essential to coffee production, especially in areas like Indonesia where it is very popular.

This blog will address what the honey process is, how it falls into place as being an unconventional yet innovative method of processing raw coffee beans and where wet hulling plays into the mix of coffee production on a larger scale. We’ll also dive into how these processes affect the end qualities of the coffee, providing a greater understanding of why this matters.

What Is the Honey Process?

The process called honey has an incredibly sweet name, but it does not use honey. Instead, it relates to the amount of sticky mucilage (a sugary layer that surrounds coffee beans within a coffee cherry) that is left on the beans during drying. Honey processed: In the Honey process, the skin of the cherry is removed but not all of it is washed, leaving some / most of the mucilage still attached to your coffee while drying.

It lies between the fully washed (wet) and natural (dry) processes in terms of how much of the fruit is left to dry with the bean. Honey coffees usually contain complex flavors, a nice balance between the bright acidity of washed coffees and the sweet fruitiness of naturals.

How the Honey Process Works

The honey process undergoes several important stages which is difference from its peers:

The Process Harvesting: Farmers begin picking the ripe coffee cherries. Because the quality of a cup of coffee depends on how ripe the cherries are

Washing: The cherry is then forced through a machine called the pulper, which strips away the outer layers of skin that cover each bean. Instead, impurities are removed while leaving the sticky mucilage layer over the beans.

Dry: Let the bean dry to remove the mucilage without cleaning. The thickness of that mucilage results in different flavors, which are what determine the classification of coffee as “yellow honey,” “red honey,” or “black honey.”

During the process of drying the coffee beans, the sugars found naturally in the mucilage undergo fermentation and that fermentation will directly affect flavor. The prolonged, even more gentle drying period really allows the flavors to develop and intensify.

Honey is considered as a method of processing that brings an additional touch of sweetness and fruitiness, with a heavier body than the typical washed coffees. Controlled fermentation and the complexity it brings have made washed processed one of the most popular methods among specialty coffee producers.

The Types of Honey Processing

These subcategories are defined by the amount of mucilage remaining on the coffee bean and drying time for a given honey process.

Yellow Honey: This process will leave very little mucilage on the beans, so they will dry much quicker. The coffee is often cleaner and white in flavor.

Honey: Beans are found with more mucilage residues on the outside, and the way they dry is lower in speed. This results in a fuller, sweeter tasting cup of coffee.

Black Honey The most mucilage is left on the bean, and requires a long time to dry (usually several weeks). This yields coffee with very fruity flavors, a full body, and is thick in the mouth.

What Is Wet Hulled and What Makes It Different?

However, whereas the honey process manipulates a mucilage layer during drying, wet hulling, widely performed in an altogether other coffee country: Indonesia (mainly Sumatra and Sulawesi), is an entirely divergent milling method. One of these is known as wet hulling (Giling Basah), a post-harvest technique that influences moisture levels in coffee beans and contributes to unique flavor properties.

How Wet Hulling Works

The wet hulling process starts out like the others, but takes a different turn during drying:

Depulping: The outer layer of the coffee cherry is removed, much like a honey processed method by using wet mill machines.

The coffee beans are dried to about 30-40% moisture content (as opposed to the usual 10-12% in other processes) before removing its pergamin layer.

Hulling: Beans are covered with a parchment layer which is removed before they completely dry in the drying process, turning them into so-called „green coffee beans. Unlike honey or washed, where the parchment is only removed once the beans have completely dried.

Final Dry: The beans are dried again to reach the standard 10%-12% moisture post hulling.

Why Wet Hulling Matters

Wet hulling is specifically designed to work with Indonesia’s humid, rainy climate (in an effort to put more protein and sugar content in the green bean mills do a method called Giling Basah which allows for floury rather than mostly nonpermeable soils from mucilage removal) when there isn’t enough sun or space or people/time to dry beans slowly, either on patios (Casero drying), raised beds, African style tables known as African Beds (soft mesh racking coffee 3-4 inches from bottom of afghan table top is ideal) or inside houses on raised netting. This method allows farmers to quickly remove the beans from the cherries and get them to market before they begin spoiling.

It is an unusual flavor profile for coffee, often labeled earthy, spicy and full-bodied with a low acidic level. Sumatra is also known for its wet-hulled coffees which can have a deep syrupy body, great flavor and finish making them perfect components in blends looking to gain body and complexity.

How Honey Process and Wet Hulling Affect Coffee Flavor

They’re like two sides of the same tasty coin: wet hulling and honey processing shape beans in ways that alter their flavor profile over time, but to different ends. Here’s how they compare:

Honey Process:

Cup Characteristics: Honey processed coffees land somewhere in the middle of washed and natural process coffees, including good balance between acidity and sweetness, with a medium to full body, as well as hints of fruitiness. There are different ways of processing honey, which can result in more precise differences of flavors from clean and bright (yellow honey) to fruity and syrupy (black honey).

Regions: This process is particularly common in countries with climates like the ones available of Costa Rica and El Salvador, flexibly dry long enough to develop complex flavors but too humid for moisture why this technique was developed.

Wet Hulling:

Flavor Profile: Wet-hulled coffee typically exhibits a much fuller body, with earthy, nutty or baking spice flavors. With less fruit tone than the coffee honey process, this is going to have a lower acidity, something bold and full-bodied, ideal for those who like Ristretto shots.

Region: Wet hulling is a method exclusive to Indonesia,where it deals with harsh wet weather that makes drying coffee beans very susceptible to spoilage.

Conclusion

The way we handle raw coffee beans influenced the eventual taste, smell, and body of the brewed coffee. Obviously, these methods and outcomes differ quite a bit but that is the honey process compared to wet hulling. Honey process gives the coffee complexity and sweetness, as well as varying degrees of fruit flavors, while wet hulling bestows deep earthy tones and full body to the beans.

Knowing these methods deepens a coffee lover’s understanding of the artistry that goes into their beloved cups of brew. If you love the sticky syrupiness of black honey or the deep woodsy notes from a wet-hulled Sumatran, both processes give two very different paths from bean to cup.