Andinas Colombian Coffee : HONEY PROCESS
In a Honey process only the coffee skin is fully removed and the seeds are allowed to dry in some or all its fruit mucilage, Honey processing is not as widely used as other methods due to its complexity, but it’s increasingly growing in popularity in places like Costa Rica & Colombia.
At Andinas Coffee all Yellow Honey Coffee Starts out the same way, coffee cherries need to be picked ripe and sorted to make sure that only the best cherries are included in production. Coffee cherry skin is removed shortly after picking the fruit typically between 8-12 hours, but 100% of the fruit mucilage is left on the seeds.
The main focus of producing Honey coffees is the drying phase, In the drying phase coffee is piled under full sun onto tarp covered patios for certain amounts of time before being agitated, rotated, aerated & raked out by the staff.
During this time, the coffee is fermenting and developing exciting flavors and aromas, acquiring the unique characteristics of a Honey process that are the result of the pectin and sugars turning into acids and alcohols which combine to produce the flavor compounds that are unique to Honey Process.
Drying time depends on both weather and the individual style of honey process being applied but it usually takes between two or three weeks for coffee to reach 11% moisture. This is a crucial stage for Honey Coffee Production, Constant attention is required by staff making and rotating the beans into a thin layer for fast even drying.
YELLOW Honey coffee tends to be the most mild in terms of fruitiness, most closely resembling a Washed coffee, Look for notes of Mango, Tangerine & oral notes.
