Fourteener Coffee Club
What is natural process coffee?
Natural process coffee, also called dry process or unwashed, is coffee dried inside the whole cherry before the fruit is removed. The picked cherries are spread in the sun for up to several weeks, then hulled. It is the oldest way to process coffee, and Wikipedia describes the result as fuller bodied, fruitier and sweeter than washed coffee.
How the natural process works
- Sorting. Before drying, unripe, overripe and damaged cherries are set aside along with twigs and leaves, by hand winnowing over a sieve or by floating the fruit in water.
- Drying. The whole cherries are laid on patios or raised beds and turned by hand or rake so they dry evenly. Wikipedia's coffee production article says this can take four weeks to reach the maximum moisture of 12.5 per cent.
- Resting and hulling. The dried fruit waits in silos, then a single pass through a huller strips every outer layer at once, leaving the green bean.
The same article calls drying the stage that governs the green bean's quality more than any other. Dry too far and the beans shatter in the huller; stop too early and mold can set in. Because it depends on dry weather at harvest, the method does not work where rain falls during picking.
It is also the most common method in some places. The article says around 90 per cent of Brazilian arabica is dried this way, as is most coffee from Ethiopia, Haiti and Paraguay, and nearly all robusta.
What natural process coffee tastes like
Wikipedia's article on Geisha coffee describes dry-processed naturals as fuller bodied, fruitier, sweeter and less acidic than washed coffees, though sometimes with a more pronounced acidity. Its Ethiopia article describes Harar, a dry processed coffee, as fruity and winey. In short: expect the fruit. Colorado roasters we list print the process in the coffee's name, so a natural is easy to spot, and a light roast leaves the most of that fruit in the cup.
Natural vs washed vs honey process
| Natural (dry) | Honey (pulped natural) | Washed (wet) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit skin | Left on through drying | Removed before drying | Removed before drying |
| Sticky fruit layer (mucilage) | Left on | Partly or fully left on | Removed by fermenting and washing, or by machine |
| Water use | Little: only if the fruit is floated for sorting | Much less than washed | The most of the three |
| Cup, per Wikipedia | Fuller body, fruitier, sweeter | Mellow and sweet, mild acidity, fruit or honey notes | Cleaner, brighter, lighter body |
More on the middle path: honey process coffee. Some farms push fermentation further still: anaerobic coffee.
Naturals from Colorado roasters
Naturals are easy to find on Colorado shelves. On September 27, 2026 these roasters we list sold natural process coffees on their own sites. They are local favorites; a listing does not mean the roaster is part of the club.
- Durango Coffee Company buys direct from Las Lajas in Costa Rica, a family farm known for honey and natural processing, and sells its fully natural Perla Negra and an SL-28 natural.
- Dark Heart in Loveland sold three at once: Nicaragua San Rafael, Ethiopia Shantawene and Brazil Luiz Saldanha.
- Peregrine in Westcliffe sold naturals from Ethiopia's Guji region, El Salvador and Peru, the last a Gesha.
- Huckleberry in Denver sold naturals from Ethiopia and Uganda, and an India lot in both washed and natural versions, a direct way to taste the difference.
- Queen City in Denver sold naturals from Ethiopia and Rwanda.
- Color, Conscious Coffees, Boxcar, Pablo's and Wagon each listed at least one natural too.
A natural from a Colorado roaster pays for a roaster here to find, cup and roast a lot like this one, work that keeps small roasteries in business. Why local roasters matter.
Naturals in the club
The plan builder does not have a processing setting, because each Colorado roaster picks what to send from its own lineup. Setting Style to Single origin in the plan builder is the closest route to naturals, and your ratings steer the next bag, so rating a natural highly tells us what you like. $16.99 a 12 oz bag; first bag free, you pay $7.99 shipping.
Sources and related terms
Sources:
- Wikipedia, Coffee production (dry, wet and semi-dry processes)
- Wikipedia, Geisha (coffee) (washed and natural cups)
- Wikipedia, Coffee production in Ethiopia (Harar)
- Colorado roaster facts: the roasters' own pages as summarized on our roaster profiles, checked 2026-09-27.