The Natural coffee process or the at times called the unwashed/dry process is quite common in areas where water supply is limited such as Ethiopia and Yemen.
This process moves the drying part of the process to a much earlier stage. Just after the coffee is picked, its placed on patio beds or raised beds and dried under the sun. It’s frequently raked and turned to prevent mold and rot, and facilitate uniform drying. Using this process, the bean maintains contact with the fruit for a much longer time period. This longer contact time leads to enzymatic reactions that give the coffee intense flavors. Once the coffee is dried to a certain humidity level, its processed through a coffee pulper machine where the fruit is removed around the bean. Much like the honey process, the natural method is quite labor intensive but certainly worth the effort for the type of flavors it produces.
