What Is Natural Process Coffee?

Natural process coffee — also called dry process — is one of the oldest methods of processing coffee, and one of the most distinctive. It produces cups with intense fruit sweetness, heavy body, and a wine-like complexity that washed coffees rarely achieve. If you've ever tasted a coffee that seemed to burst with blueberry or tropical fruit, it was almost certainly a natural process.

How Natural Processing Works

After coffee cherries are harvested, the fruit needs to be removed from the bean inside. There are several ways to do this. Natural processing is the simplest: the whole cherry — fruit and all — is spread out on raised beds or patios and dried in the sun for 3–6 weeks. During this time, the fruit ferments around the bean, and the sugars and flavors from the fruit slowly infuse into the bean.

Once the cherry is fully dried, it's milled to remove the dried fruit and parchment, revealing the green bean inside. That bean carries the flavor compounds absorbed during the long drying process — which is why natural process coffees taste so dramatically different from washed coffees grown in the same region.

What Natural Process Coffee Tastes Like

Natural process coffees are known for:

• Intense fruit sweetness — blueberry, strawberry, tropical fruit, mango. The fruit character is often so pronounced it surprises people who expect coffee to taste like coffee.
• Wine-like complexity — a fermented, complex quality that resembles red wine or fruit wine
• Heavy body — full and syrupy in the cup
• Lower acidity — generally less bright than washed coffees. If low acidity is a priority, also browse our low-acid coffee collection.
• Long, sweet finish — the fruit character lingers

Natural vs. Washed: What's the Difference?

Washed (wet process) coffee removes the fruit before drying, producing a cleaner, brighter cup that highlights the bean's inherent character and the terroir of the origin. Natural process coffee lets the fruit influence the bean during drying, producing a sweeter, more complex cup with more pronounced fruit character.

Neither is better — they're different expressions of the same bean. Many coffee drinkers love both and choose between them based on mood and brew method. Explore both styles in our single-origin collection.

Where Natural Process Coffee Comes From

Natural processing originated in Ethiopia and Yemen, where water was scarce and sun-drying was the practical option. Today it's used worldwide, but it's most associated with:

• Ethiopia — the birthplace of natural processing. Ethiopian naturals are famous for their blueberry and jasmine character.
• Brazil — most Brazilian coffee is naturally processed. The nutty, chocolatey character of Brazilian coffee comes largely from the natural process.
• Yemen — one of the oldest coffee-producing countries, still using traditional natural processing methods.

Our Ethiopia Natural

Our Ethiopia Natural is the best example of natural process coffee in our lineup. Blueberry, jasmine, and a wine-like complexity that's unlike anything else we carry. It's processed using the traditional dry method — whole cherries dried in the sun, allowing the fruit to ferment and infuse the bean with sweetness and complexity.

Best brewed in pour over or Aeropress. Drink it black — milk will mask what makes it special. Want to try it alongside other origins? Our sample packs make it easy to explore before committing to a full bag.

Browse our single origin coffees — including our Ethiopia Natural, roasted fresh to order.