QUESTION: What is honey process coffee? I saw an ad for it on Facebook, but I don’t really understand what it is. — Lina T
ANSWER: The most important thing to know about honey process coffee is that it does not use or contain any actual honey from bees. So what is it? It’s a less processed method of preparing coffee beans that uses less water. Coffee beans are inside the fruit or coffee cherry that comes from the coffee tree. Washed coffee uses water to wash away all the mucilage, so that only the bean remains, after the coffee cherry is de-pulped to take the bean out of the coffee fruit.
Honey process coffee still does the same de-pulping to take away the coffee cherry and skin. But instead of washing away the mucilage, the beans are left with and dried that way. This process saves water. That mucilage looks like a coating of honey, and that’s why it is called honey process coffee.
Interestingly, it also gives the coffee a sweeter taste because it keeps some of the sweetness of the coffee cherry.
There are different levels of honey process, including yellow honey, red honey and black honey. Black honey is the most expensive and complex of the three. You can learn about those differences here.
Here are some brands of honey process coffee that you should consider trying, to taste it for yourself!
Pure Coffee Club offers this honey process coffee grown in Costa Rica.
https://purecoffeeclub.com/honey-process-coffee/
White Tale Coffee offers several honey process coffee options, including some Columbian coffees.
https://whitetalecoffee.com/collections/coffee/products/cafe-de-paz?variant=37010233131161
Z Beans Coffee also offers some honey process coffees
https://www.zbeanscoffee.com/products/honey-processed-coffee