What does processing mean in coffee?

Processing refers to the series of steps that transform freshly harvested coffee cherries into green, exportable beans ready for roasting. It's one of the most significant determinants of a coffee's flavour profile - comparable in importance to origin and variety.

The three primary methods: Washed (the cherry skin and mucilage are removed before drying, producing clean, bright, origin-expressive cups); Natural (whole cherries dry in the sun with fruit intact, producing heavy body, lower acidity, and pronounced fruit character); and Honey (skin removed but mucilage retained during drying, sitting between washed and natural in sweetness and fruit influence).

Beyond these three, a growing range of experimental methods - anaerobic fermentation, carbonic maceration, lactic fermentation, and co-fermentation - have significantly expanded the processing landscape in recent years, enabling flavour profiles that weren't previously possible. Processing is now understood as one of the most powerful creative tools available to a producer.