yellow, red, black: the honey process spectrum

coffee society journal — processing deep dive

by sherry quach, founder & roaster at coffee society · berkeley, ca

the short answer

First, the disappointing news: there are no bees involved. “Honey” describes the sticky mucilage (the fruit layer) that's left clinging to the seed when the skin comes off but the coffee skips the washing tank. Dry it like that and the fruit sugars soak in as the moisture leaves. How much fruit stays on, and how the coffee is dried, gives you the color scale of yellow, red, and black.

01the scale, in one look

yellow honeythe least fruit left on, dried fast in open sun · closest to washed, with gentle sweetness and a clean finish
red honeymore fruit and slower drying with some shade · rounder body, jammy edges, and usually the crowd favorite
black honeynearly all the fruit, dried slowly under cover · syrupy and intense, about halfway to a natural

The color names come from how the drying coffee looks on the beds as the sugars darken, not from anything that's added.

02why producers bother

Honey processing is a balancing act with real stakes. It uses far less water than full washing, it earns more per pound than standard lots, and it lands in a flavor zone buyers love, sweeter than washed but cleaner than natural. The catch is that sticky coffee is fussy coffee. It clumps, it can ferment if the weather turns, and it needs near-constant turning, so a black honey that comes out clean took a lot of patient work.

03brewing them at home

Honeys are the great all-rounders, with enough clarity for pour over and enough body to hold up in milk. If you brew more than one way in your house, say one person on espresso and one on drip, a red honey is often the bag you both finish. Look for the process line on our labels, and when a honey lot is in season, it usually doesn't last long.

04common questions

Does honey process coffee taste like honey?

Sometimes, but that's a coincidence. The name is about the sticky drying stage, though the style's roundness and sweetness often do read a little honey-ish in the cup.

Is honey process the same as pulped natural?

Essentially yes. Brazil says pulped natural and Central America says honey, and the honey scale adds the detail of how much fruit was left on.

Which honey should I try first?

Red. It's the middle of the spectrum for a reason, with enough fruit to be interesting and enough control to be clean.

catch the next honey lot

Seasonal lots rotate through the shop and the rotating subscription as harvests land, 50 to 100 pounds at a time, roasted to order and gone when they're gone.

rotating single-origin processing 101

coffee society · specialty micro roaster · berkeley, ca · est. 2023

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