What is the natural coffee process?

The natural process — also called dry process — dries whole coffee cherries with their pulp and mucilage still attached over two to four weeks. As the fruit slowly dehydrates, the bean absorbs sugars and fruity esters, resulting in a heavier, sweeter cup typically marked by strawberry, blueberry or ripe red-fruit notes.

Natural is the oldest processing method: it has been practiced since the 15th century on Yemeni terraces and across the Horn of Africa, simply because it requires no water. Today it still dominates in Ethiopia, Brazil and most arid-region producers, where sun and airflow do the heavy lifting. The principle is straightforward: ripe cherries are spread out right after harvest on concrete patios, tarps, or increasingly on raised African beds that let air circulate from below.

Drying typically takes 15 to 30 days, sometimes up to six weeks in humid climates. During that window, a passive fermentation unfolds in the dehydrating pulp around the bean: wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria produce fruity esters that migrate into the seed, enriching the final profile. The balance is delicate — too much humidity and the lot develops mould or phenolic defects, too little and drying becomes uneven. Producers rake the cherries 4 to 12 times a day in the early phase, then less frequently as the lot hardens, until internal moisture reaches the target 10-12 %.

Once dry, the coffee in 'dried cherry' form rests for 30 to 60 days to stabilise aroma, then passes through the dry mill, where the dried fruit envelope is removed in one pass (hulling) to release the green bean. On the palate, a classic natural offers a sweeter, fruitier cup than its washed counterpart, with rounder body, lower acidity and flavours ranging from strawberry and blackcurrant (Ethiopian Sidamo or Guji) to milk chocolate, hazelnut and red-fruit compote (Brazilian Mogiana, Cerrado). Modern third-wave roasters in Scandinavia, London and Brussels now treat a clean natural as a top-tier signature; a poorly executed natural, conversely, remains the classic defect of cheap commodity coffee (heavy fermented notes, vinegary edge).

Natural process benchmarks