What is semi-washed processing?

Semi-washed — also called pulped natural or in Brazil cereja descascado — is a hybrid process where the cherry is mechanically depulped but the bean is laid out to dry with part of the mucilage still attached, skipping tank fermentation and intensive washing. It blends the clarity of a washed with some of the sweetness and body of a natural.

Semi-washed emerged in Brazil in the 1990s, driven by water restrictions and a search for a distinctive signature apart from the classic natural. The logic is pragmatic: take advantage of the depulper (quick skin removal, immature-cherry sorting, increased drying surface) without committing to the water volume required for tank fermentation and downstream washing. The sequence is simple: depulping within 12-24 hours of harvest, then direct drying on patio or raised beds, with residual mucilage typically 60-90 % of the original amount.

Semi-washed differs from honey on one precise point: honey follows a standardised framework (white/yellow/red/black with defined mucilage percentages), whereas semi-washed is a broader, less codified umbrella covering several national variants. In Brazil, cereja descascado (CD) is depulped and dried without a demucilager, generally leaving 70-80 % mucilage. In Indonesia, some regions run a semi-washed with mechanical demucilaging that strips 50 % of the mucilage before drying. In Costa Rica, vocabulary has leaned toward 'honey' since 2010, but lots technically equivalent to classic semi-washed still exist under that label. The cup result is usually mid-way: more body and sweetness than a washed, less intense fruit than a natural, with signature notes of milk chocolate, caramel, hazelnut and yellow fruit.

Semi-washed has three practical strengths: it cuts water use five- to tenfold versus a classic washed (around 10-20 L/kg versus 80-150 L/kg), accelerates drying by 30-40 % versus a natural, and stabilises the profile — less batch variation than a natural, which simplifies sales to industrial roasters. It remains dominant in most Brazilian production (about 40 % of exported volumes), which statistically makes it one of the world's most-consumed coffees without the general public ever knowing its name. For Belgian drinkers raised on daily filter coffee, a Brazilian semi-washed often embodies the classic chocolate-hazelnut signature of the morning mug — highly readable, no aggressive acidity, with a sweetness that complements speculoos.

Semi-washed vs washed vs natural