Natural process coffee
Natural coffee is dried whole, inside the fruit, so the sugars in the cherry ferment against the bean for weeks — this is where blueberry, strawberry and heavy syrupy body come from.
It is the oldest method and the simplest to describe: pick the cherry, put it on a patio or raised bed, turn it for two to four weeks until it rattles, then hull it. It is also by far the hardest to do well. Cherries piled too deep, turned too rarely or dried too fast produce the vinegary, boozy, over-fermented flavours that gave naturals a bad name for decades.
Done well, a natural is unmistakable — the fruit is not a suggestion but the loudest thing in the cup. Ethiopia, Brazil and Yemen are the historic natural origins; almost everywhere now produces some.
- Coffees in the catalogue
- 20
- Common notes
- blueberry, strawberry, tropical, cherry and dark chocolate
- Price range
- $16.00 – $31.50
Common questions
What does natural mean on a bag of coffee?
Natural coffee is dried whole, inside the fruit, so the sugars in the cherry ferment against the bean for weeks — this is where blueberry, strawberry and heavy syrupy body come from.
What does natural coffee taste like?
Across the 20 natural coffees in this catalogue the most common tasting notes are blueberry, strawberry, tropical, cherry and dark chocolate.
20 natural coffees in the catalogue
- Ethiopia Dur Feres — Prodigal Coffee. blueberry, jam and sweet. $30.00 / 250 g.
- Ethiopia Natural — Big Shoulders Coffee. ripe strawberry, cherry, plum and dark chocolate. $26.00 / 340 g.
- Bali Kintamani Natural — Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters. dark chocolate, cherry and pomegranate. $25.00 / 340 g.
- Ethiopia Yebesele Natural — Goshen Coffee Roasters. ripe berry, juicy and citrus zest. $22.00 / 340 g.
- Ethiopia Worka Sakaro Natural — Pilcrow Coffee. stonefruit, clementine and rose water. $20.00 / 340 g.
- Ethiopia Guji Natural — Five Watt Coffee. strawberry, cocoa nib and jammy. $23.00 / 340 g.
- Daterra Sundrop — George Howell Coffee. blueberry, butterscotch and clove. $26.00 / 340 g.
- Ethiopia Guji — Ledger Coffee Roasters. fresh plum, caramel sugar and sweet floral. $20.00 / 284 g.
- Uganda Kisoro Estate — Spyhouse Coffee Roasters. winey, red grape and cocoa. $27.00 / 284 g.
- Ethiopia / Ardi — Repetition Coffee. raspberry, rooibos and ginger. $17.00 / 284 g.
- Brazil Matas — Four Letter Word Coffee. milk chocolate, hazelnut and caramel. $20.00 / 284 g.
- Ethiopia Wush Wush Natural — Dogwood Coffee Co. blueberry, tropical and syrupy. $25.00 / 340 g.
- Ethiopia Natural — The Roasterie. lemon, brown sugar and baking spice. $20.00 / 340 g.
- Costa Rica Buena Vista Black Cherry Natural — Messenger Coffee Company. black cherry, brown sugar and cola. $31.50 / 284 g.
- Ethiopia Habtamu Fikadu — Heart Coffee Roasters. strawberry, cocoa and tropical. $22.00 / 340 g.
- Ethiopia — Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters. blueberry jam, caramel, strawberry and apricot. $20.90 / 340 g.
- Arbegona — La Cabra. blueberry, cacao and floral. $26.00 / 250 g.
- Nyamasheke, Rwanda — Coma Coffee Roasters. strawberry, red stone fruit and roasted almond. $16.00 / 340 g.
- Ethiopia Hambela — Wesley Andrews. blueberry, rose and tropical. $24.00 / 340 g.
- Ethiopian Amaro Gayo — Revocup Coffee Roasters. mocha, tropical fruit, banana and chocolate. $20.00 / 340 g.
Related
Coffee from Ethiopia Coffee from Indonesia Coffee from Brazil Coffee from Uganda Coffee from Costa Rica Coffee from Rwanda