Natural

Natural process (also called the dry process) is one of the traditional ways of turning coffee cherries into green coffee beans.

How it works

1. Harvest – Ripe coffee cherries are picked.
2. Sorting – Cherries are sorted to remove unripe, overripe, or damaged ones (often by hand or in water).
3. Drying – The whole cherries (with the fruit pulp and skin still attached) are spread out to dry in the sun on raised beds. They are turned regularly so they dry evenly and don’t mold.
4. Hulling – Once the cherries reach the right moisture level (usually around 10–12%), the dried outer layers (skin, pulp, and parchment) are mechanically removed, leaving the green coffee bean.

Flavor characteristics

Natural-processed coffees tend to be:

• Sweeter and fruitier
• Fuller-bodied
• More intense and complex (often with berry, tropical fruit, or wine-like notes)

Because the bean spends a long time in contact with the drying fruit, it absorbs more of those sugars and flavors.