Washed process coffee

Washed coffee has all its fruit removed before drying, so what you taste is the seed and the place it grew rather than the fruit around it — the cleanest and most transparent way to process a coffee.

Cherries are pulped within hours of picking, then the sticky mucilage still clinging to the bean is broken down in a fermentation tank over roughly twelve to thirty-six hours, washed off in channels, and the parchment-covered bean is dried on beds or patios.

The result is clarity. Washed processing removes most of the variables that fermentation introduces, which is why it is the default for origins whose selling point is terroir — Kenya, most of Colombia, Guatemala, and the floral side of Ethiopia.

It is also the most water-intensive and the least forgiving. A washed coffee has nowhere to hide a picking mistake.

Coffees in the catalogue
75
Origins
Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Burundi
Common notes
jasmine, orange, floral, black tea and apricot
Price range
$16.00 – $80.00

Common questions

What does washed mean on a bag of coffee?

Washed coffee has all its fruit removed before drying, so what you taste is the seed and the place it grew rather than the fruit around it — the cleanest and most transparent way to process a coffee.

What does washed coffee taste like?

Across the 75 washed coffees in this catalogue the most common tasting notes are jasmine, orange, floral, black tea and apricot.

75 washed coffees in the catalogue

  • Peru La Margarita Gesha — Onyx Coffee Lab. jasmine, bergamot and white peach. $70.00 / 284 g.
  • Daisy Acevedo — La Cabra. jasmine, peach and bergamot. $42.00 / 200 g.
  • Mexico — Backlot Coffee. dark chocolate, almond butter and dulce de leche. $20.00 / 340 g.
  • Familia Morales Rivera — Passenger Coffee. rose, honeydew and kiwi. $80.00 / 150 g.
  • Colombia Diego Parra Beltran — Dogwood Coffee Co. red apple, caramel and orange. $27.00 / 340 g.
  • Kamavindi — Counter Culture Coffee. blood orange, nectarine and juicy. $33.00 / 340 g.
  • Ethiopia Uraga Gogogu — Oddly Correct. pear, hibiscus and dried mango. $30.00 / 340 g.
  • Take it Slowly — Passion House Coffee Roasters. papaya, green grape, cola and lime zest. $29.00 / 340 g.
  • Ethiopia Kurimi — Intelligentsia Coffee. lemon, bergamot and florals. $25.00 / 340 g.
  • Rwanda Lake Kivu — The Get Down Coffee Co. red currant, black tea and cane sugar. $22.00 / 340 g.
  • Jose Arguello — Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters. raspberry, guava and chocolate. $24.00 / 340 g.
  • Elida Estate Washed Gesha Lot C — Black & White Coffee Roasters. jasmine, bergamot and peach. $32.00 / 227 g.
  • Kenya Embu AA — Sump Coffee. tart apricot, bergamot and blueberry. $22.00 / 340 g.
  • Buku Sayisa — Sey Coffee. lemon, jasmine and white grape. $26.00 / 250 g.
  • Sidra — Coava Coffee Roasters. mixed berry pie, passionfruit and mango. $31.00 / 340 g.
  • Organic Mexico Santuario — Wonderstate Coffee. dark chocolate, toffee and raisin. $20.00 / 250 g.
  • Wild Child — Thou Mayest Coffee Roasters. lemon, florals and light chocolate. $20.00 / 340 g.
  • Nairobi AA, Kenya — Blueprint Coffee. craisin, green apple, sweet lime and cardamom. $24.00 / 284 g.
  • Colombia Benjamin Tunubala Pink Bourbon — Onyx Coffee Lab. tangerine, jasmine and apricot. $38.00 / 284 g.
  • Peru — Ipsento Coffee Roasters. orange, chocolate, honey and lilac. $23.00 / 340 g.
  • Peru David Flores La Neblina — Ruby Coffee Roasters. red grape, cocoa and cherry. $35.00 / 340 g.
  • Guatemala Huehuetenango — SK Coffee. milk chocolate, apple and almond. $21.00 / 340 g.
  • Benjamin Paz La Salsa Gesha — Verve Coffee Roasters. honeydew, blood orange and jasmine. $38.50 / 150 g.
  • Guatemala Finca Las Moritas — Backlot Coffee. butterscotch, orange and pear. $22.00 / 340 g.
  • Honduras Marcala — Wildflyer Coffee. milk chocolate, orange and honey. $20.00 / 340 g.
  • Yessica Parra Sidra — Little Wolf Coffee Roasters. tropical, florals and citrus. $28.00 / 340 g.
  • San Francisco Ozolotepec — Metric Coffee Co. cocoa, orange and brown sugar. $27.00 / 284 g.
  • Guatemala Antigua — Metric Coffee Co. cocoa, orange and brown sugar. $22.00 / 340 g.
  • Green Dragon Costa Rica — Stone Creek Coffee. orange blossom, green grape and honeydew. $21.00 / 340 g.
  • Kenya Kirinyaga — Kaldi's Coffee Roasting Company. grapefruit, cherry and shortbread. $20.50 / 340 g.
  • Ethiopia Yirgacheffe — UP Coffee Roasters. lemon, jasmine and honey. $22.00 / 340 g.
  • Ethiopian Guji Washed — Revocup Coffee Roasters. floral, raspberry and lime. $18.00 / 340 g.
  • Colombia Alco Bolivar — Coffeestamp. dark chocolate, green apple, lemongrass and raw sugar. $19.25 / 340 g.
  • Mamuto AA — George Howell Coffee. blackberry, plum, cherry and violet. $45.00 / 340 g.
  • Peru Cajamarca — True Stone Coffee Roasters. brown sugar, walnut and citrus. $20.00 / 340 g.
  • Duromina — Counter Culture Coffee. sweet tea, apricot and honeysuckle. $27.00 / 340 g.
  • Ethiopia Yirgacheffe — Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. blackberry, milk chocolate, lemongrass and black tea. $21.50 / 340 g.
  • Ethiopia Agaro Duromina — Kaldi's Coffee Roasting Company. honeydew melon, white peach, raisin and cola. $21.50 / 340 g.
  • Mustefa Abakeno Washed — Black & White Coffee Roasters. floral, citrus and black tea. $24.00 / 340 g.
  • Danche — Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters. jasmine, peach rings and honey. $24.00 / 340 g.
  • Nicaragua Tierra Madre — Kin-Kin Coffee. red grape, milk chocolate and syrupy sweetness. $21.00 / 340 g.
  • La Granja — Sey Coffee. nectarine, lime blossom and cane sugar. $28.00 / 250 g.
  • Ocelot — Passion House Coffee Roasters. peach, raspberry, fruit punch and chocolate. $26.00 / 340 g.
  • Colombia Huila — Five Watt Coffee. red apple, panela and cocoa. $21.00 / 340 g.
  • Colombia La Loteria — Oddly Correct. red grape, black cherry, milk chocolate and lime zest. $22.00 / 340 g.
  • Heza — Passenger Coffee. raspberry, black tea and apricot. $21.25 / 250 g.
  • Colombia Yacuanquer — Verve Coffee Roasters. red apple, butterscotch and milk chocolate. $23.00 / 340 g.
  • Colombia Narino — Backstory Coffee Roasters. cherry, caramel and orange. $23.00 / 340 g.
  • Guatemala | ALMA San Marcos Nuevo Oriente — Gaslight Coffee Roasters. mandarin, cranberry and plum. $23.45 / 340 g.
  • Boneshaker Colombia — Stone Creek Coffee. plum, cocoa, lemongrass and grapefruit. $21.00 / 340 g.
  • Nicaragua Las Diosas — Just Coffee Cooperative. barley malt, hazelnut and tobacco. $16.00 / 340 g.
  • Colombia Los Guacharos Pink Bourbon — Ruby Coffee Roasters. tangerine, apricot and floral. $24.00 / 340 g.
  • Ethiopia Bombe — Spyhouse Coffee Roasters. oolong tea, nectarine, lemon zest and delicate. $25.00 / 284 g.
  • Colombia La Esperanza — Prodigal Coffee. apricot, cane sugar and florals. $28.00 / 250 g.
  • Kenya Nyeri AB — SK Coffee. blackcurrant, tomato and citrus. $24.00 / 340 g.
  • Burundi Gitwe — Metric Coffee Co. red plum, brown sugar and black tea. $29.00 / 284 g.
  • Ethiopia Hirut Birhanu — Colectivo Coffee Roasters. green tea, nectarine and jasmine. $21.00 / 340 g.
  • Bella Carmona — JBC Coffee Roasters. apricot, nutter butter, agave and twix bar. $24.00 / 340 g.
  • Ethiopia Banko Gotiti — Dogwood Coffee Co. jasmine, stone fruit and lemon. $25.00 / 340 g.
  • Colombia Gran Galope — Sump Coffee. baker's chocolate, cranberry and orange. $20.50 / 340 g.
  • Kilenso — Coava Coffee Roasters. key lime, lavender and custard. $23.00 / 340 g.
  • Burundi Ninga Hill — Four Letter Word Coffee. orange, honey and caramel. $24.00 / 284 g.
  • Fabled Brew — Just Coffee Cooperative. dark chocolate, raisin and smoky. $20.00 / 340 g.
  • Karinga AB — Little Wolf Coffee Roasters. blackcurrant, grapefruit and juicy. $20.00 / 340 g.
  • Ethiopia | Suke Quto — Gaslight Coffee Roasters. passionfruit, white tea, apricot and jasmine. $24.00 / 340 g.
  • Worka Chelbessa — George Howell Coffee. peach, cherry blossom, honey and jasmine. $26.00 / 340 g.
  • Colombia Paso Fino — Colectivo Coffee Roasters. cherry, crisp and baking spice. $16.95 / 340 g.
  • Kenya Karimikui AB — Heart Coffee Roasters. blackcurrant, tomato and lime. $20.00 / 340 g.
  • Kenya Mugaya — Metric Coffee Co. red currant, vanilla bean and black tea. $25.00 / 284 g.
  • Kenya Kii — Dogwood Coffee Co. blackcurrant, grapefruit and brown sugar. $25.00 / 340 g.
  • Kiangoi — La Cabra. redcurrant, hibiscus and crisp. $25.00 / 250 g.
  • Kamwangi — Sey Coffee. blackcurrant, rhubarb and grapefruit. $27.00 / 250 g.
  • Decaf Colombia — Kin-Kin Coffee. malt, graham cracker and mild fruit. $21.00 / 340 g.
  • Ethiopia Reko — Ruby Coffee Roasters. peach, lemon and florals. $21.50 / 340 g.
  • Ethiopia Sidama — Backstory Coffee Roasters. bergamot, peach and black tea. $22.00 / 340 g.

Related

Coffee from Peru Coffee from Colombia Coffee from Mexico Coffee from Ecuador Coffee from Kenya Coffee from Ethiopia Coffee from Rwanda Coffee from Panama Coffee from Guatemala Coffee from Honduras Coffee from Costa Rica Coffee from Nicaragua Coffee from Burundi