Washed + naturally processed?

Washed and Naturally Processed Coffee Beans

Washed and Natural Processing  - What do these mean for speciality coffee beans?

In the right of the photograph are natural processed beans. The producers spread out the cherries on drying mats or raised beds with the fruit still intact

Once the cherries reach a certain moisture content, they are hulled. 

This involves removing the dried fruit (including parchment and mucilage) from the seeds. Depending on the country and the size of the farm this is done either by hand but more often with a machine 

The beans may then go through additional dry milling to clean them before they are ready for export.

On the left are washed processed coffee beans, the cherries are immediately de-pulped to remove the  fruit and skin surrounding the seeds

Beans are fermented for 8 - 70 hours to break down the mucilage, the sticky fruit residue

After fermentation, beans are washed to clean away any remaining mucilage and are then sun-dried on raised beds or patios

These two processing methods result in very distinct flavour profiles

Washed coffees typically have clarity of flavour are cleaner, have more crisper acidity and a less heavy body. 

Generally, natural coffees are less subtle,  have less acidity,  and a fuller mouthfeel which often strays into a funky, boozy coffee.