S4: Episode 5: From Funky to Fabulous? The Natural Coffee Comeback
In this episode we dig into the OG of coffee processing - AKA natural coffee. Find out how natural coffees are the comeback kid of the specialty coffee world and what sparked their renaissance when that world had - for good reason - moved on. Discover why naturals taste the way they do and pick up some brewing tips to get the best out of them. This week’s FACQ answers the pertinent question of, given their name, are natural coffees better for you?
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Hello and welcome to The Coffee Drinker’s Guide, a podcast for the coffee curious where I explore and explain the world of specialty coffee to make your daily coffee better and more satisfying.
I’m Angela Holder a coffee roaster and writer on a mission to fight back against bad coffee by giving you the knowledge you need to help you get good coffee and a happier (coffee) life in coffee-break sized episodes. So grab your coffee, pull up a chair and take a break…
In this week's episode we are taking a deep dive into the green coffee processing method that produces natural coffees…and later I’ll be answering a question about whether - given the name - they may be assumed to be better for you than other coffees so stay tuned for that…
In 2005 the winning coffee in the inaugural Ethiopian ECafe Gold coffee competition was an unwashed - AKA natural - coffee. In 2025, this fact wouldn’t cause any coffee professional in the world to bat an eyelid. Then, it was almost a scandal. Despite the name of the Ethiopian competition, the gold standard for coffees at the time lay with the clean, washed Arabica coffees that won the Cup of Excellence coffee competitions. Next to those, the winning Ethiopian unwashed coffee tasted fermented. A damning condemnation for a specialty coffee at the time. The win proved to be the start of a seismic, if slow, shift in the specialty coffee world’s understanding of what good coffee tastes like. And the coffee process once only associated with cheap coffee and poor flavours is now to be found amongst the coffee offering of any specialty coffee roaster worth their salt. So what is natural coffee and why did it pose such a challenge to the status quo all those years ago? Lets find out..
Firstly natural coffee and the bean
When a coffee is described as a ‘natural’ or ‘natural process’ it refers to the method by which the coffee cherries were processed to remove the seeds which are the beans we roast and drink. Probably the world’s oldest coffee processing method the natural process is also known as unwashed or dry processed coffee. After picking, the whole cherries are spread out to dry on patios or raised beds. Drying can take weeks, depending on weather conditions with the cherries needing to be covered when it rains. When the cherries are dried sufficiently the remains of the fruit and outer layers of the seed are removed to leave the inner seed or coffee bean. Traditionally this low cost process is prone to the beans being affected by over-fermentation, bacteria and moulds and was used to mass produce cheap coffee. The defective beans the coffee contained made it taste terrible leading to the poor reputation of natural coffees and its avoidance by third wave specialty coffee roasters. In recent years, producers have begun to take more care over the production of natural coffees intended to be sold as specialty coffees by trying to ensure that only fully ripe cherries are processed. They then monitor the cherries carefully, turning them regularly to ensure even drying and prevent mould growth. The result is better quality coffees with interesting fruity flavours which can command higher prices. It should be noted that as the term ‘natural’ only refers to the post harvest processing method, natural coffees can come from any coffee producing country, any farm and any variety of coffee bush.
Next natural coffee and the taste
Good quality natural coffees are characterised by robust fruit flavours, a heavy mouthfeel and bucketloads of sweetness. The fruit flavours of natural coffees are usually described as ripe blueberry, strawberry or pineapple. Poor quality natural coffees are inconsistent and prone to funky, mouldy flavours and over-fermentation - by which I mean they taste like a farmyard. And back when I started my coffee career many moons ago, that was typically what a natural processed coffee tasted like. Although the flavour of naturals has improved, especially over the last ten years or so, I have to confess that I am still not a fan. I find them unsubtle and sickly. The over-ripe fruit flavours always seem to teeter on the edge of being fermented or tasting like the farmyard flavours of over-ripe hay and silage. Also, the flavour imparted by natural processing usually over-rides that of the origin or coffee variety to such an extent that, for me, all natural coffees taste pretty much the same. And that's just boring.
Finally natural coffee and the brew
These fruit heavy, bold coffees may be brewed successfully by any brewing method. But if you don’t drink natural coffees on the regular, you’ll probably find that you’ll need to do a bit of tweaking to your usual brewing settings to get a satisfying brew. These adjustments will very much depend on your personal preferences when it comes to the fruitiness and intensity of your coffee and on the beans themselves in terms of their density and level of roast. So be prepared for some experimental brews before you settle on one that you like. Two variables to start with are the amount coffee you use per brew and the brewing water temperature. Firstly if you want to reduce the intensity of the natural flavour use less coffee per brew. Then if you want to accentuate the fruity acidity of the coffee use a lower brewing water temperature, in the region of 88 to 90°Celsius, or 190 to 194°Fahrenheit. But if you’d rather take the edge off it, use hotter water at 90 to 92°Celsius, or 194 to 198°Fahrenheit. Feel free to play around with these until you get a result you like, but remember to only change one thing per brew so that you really understand the effect of that change on your coffee.
And now its time for a Frequently Asked Coffee Question…
And this episode’s question is…
Are natural coffees better for you than other coffees?
Nope, no better and no worse. In advertising the word ‘natural’ is often used to convey a sense of purity or wholesomeness in a product, but in the coffee industry, natural simply refers to the way the coffee cherry is processed after harvesting. It is also known as unwashed or dry processed because unlike the washed and pulped natural processes very little, if any, water is used to process the coffee cherries. Water used in coffee processing can have a big environmental impact both in the amount of water required and the potential subsequent pollution of local waterways, so in that sense natural processing of coffee can be seen as being better for the environment than other methods. And circling back to the idea of natural meaning pure, don’t assume that all natural coffees are free from pesticides and herbicides. Unless natural coffees are labelled as ‘Certified Organic’ along with the appropriate seal, logo or code they are as likely to have been treated with agricultural chemicals as any other crop.
Thank you for listening to this episode of The Coffee Drinker’s Guide and that was all about natural coffee. Do you love it or hate it? I’d be interested to hear what you think. You can let me know on Instagram @thecoffeedrinkersguide, email me at thecoffeedrinkersguide@gmail.com or leave me a text message using the link in the show notes. In the next episode we are turning our attention to oily beans. Listen to find out what the appearance of the beans can tell you about a coffee before you even take a sip. Be sure to hit follow so that you don’t miss it, if you haven’t already. Just a reminder that my wordsearch puzzle book ‘Wordsearch For The Coffee Curious’ is out now. The link is in the show notes if you are looking for a coffee break distraction for yourself or a gift for a coffee friend perhaps. Or you could share your favourite episode with them. And as always I would really appreciate it if you’d rate and review this podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts to help other coffee curious people find the show too. Thanks to my executive producer Viel Richardson at Lusona Publishing and Media Limited. You can find him at lusonapub.co.uk. Until next time I’m Angela Holder thanks for taking your coffee break with me - the best way to tackle life is one coffee at a time and here’s to better coffee!
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