What is the Yellow Honey Process?

The Yellow Honey process is a masterclass in controlled oxidation and micro-climate drying. It represents a highly specific, intermediate stage within the honey processing family, engineered to capture the exact midpoint between the clean profile of a washed coffee and the wild sweetness of a natural.

The process begins immediately after harvesting. The coffee cherries are de-pulped to strip away their outer skin, but instead of washing the seeds completely clean, a precise percentage of the sweet, sticky mucilage is left tightly bound to the parchment layer. The beans are then immediately transferred to drying beds where they receive a meticulously balanced amount of shade and sun. Over the drying phase, this exposed mucilage undergoes a controlled oxidation, shifting into a beautiful, yellowish-amber hue that gives the process its name, all while the seed slowly absorbs the surrounding natural sugars.

What to Expect in Your Cup?

Brewing a Yellow Honey processed coffee offers a brilliantly balanced, crowd-pleasing sensory experience. Because a moderate layer of fruit sugars remains on the bean during dehydration, the final cup showcases an amplified body and a velvety, honey-like mouthfeel. It features a rich, rounded fruity sweetness—often reminiscent of stone fruits, yellow plums, and light caramel—yet it retains a sparkling, clean acidity. It is the perfect choice for those who love the fruit-forward sweetness of a natural but demand the structural clarity and clean finish of a washed coffee.

Challenges at the Farm?

Achieving a flawless Yellow Honey lot requires a delicate balancing act under the sun. Because the remaining sugary mucilage is highly sensitive to weather conditions, the drying beds must be monitored constantly. If the beans receive too much direct sun too quickly, the mucilage dries hard and fails to transfer its complex sugars to the seed. If they receive too much shade or humidity, the sticky beans will clump together and develop rot. Workers must rotate the coffee with absolute precision to ensure the entire lot achieves that uniform, amber-colored cure.