Washed, natural, honey, and wet-hulled

How a coffee cherry is turned into a green bean shapes the cup as much as origin or roast. Washed (wet) process strips the fruit pulp off before fermenting the beans in water to remove the sticky mucilage layer, then dries them — this gives the cleanest, brightest, most acidity-forward cup, since little fruit character carries through and the origin's own traits show most clearly. Natural (dry) process dries the whole cherry intact with the fruit still on, fermenting internally over one to several weeks — this produces a heavier body and pronounced fruity, winey sweetness, at some cost to clarity.

Honey process sits between the two: skin is removed but some or all of the sticky mucilage ("honey") is left on the parchment during drying — labeled white through black honey depending on how much mucilage remains — balancing washed-style clarity with natural-style sweetness. Wet-hulled processing (giling basah), common in Indonesia, removes the parchment layer while the bean is still wet rather than fully dry — this is what gives Sumatran coffee its characteristic low acidity, heavy body, and earthy, herbal profile. A newer fifth category, anaerobic fermentation, seals cherries or pulped beans in an oxygen-free tank before drying — this intensifies fermentation-driven flavors (often boozy, tropical-fruit, or funky notes) and is used deliberately to create distinctive, high-value micro-lots rather than as an everyday-drinking-coffee process.