Milestones of the Cafe
The same lot can taste like citrus or like ripe berry, depending on what happens in the days after picking.
Processing is the decision about how much fruit stays in contact with the seed, and for how long. It is one of the largest levers a producer has over flavour.
Washed coffees have the fruit removed before drying. What is left is the character of the variety and the ground it grew in — usually clean, structured, and bright. Most of Nepal's exported coffee is washed.
Naturals dry inside the whole cherry, which pushes the cup towards heavy body and berry sweetness. Honey processing sits between the two: some mucilage stays on, and the amount left behind sets how much of that sweetness carries through.
None of these is better than the others. They are different questions asked of the same coffee, and a well-run mill can answer any of them well.
