Honey

The skin comes off but some of the sticky fruit stays on the seed while it dries, for a sweet, rounded cup.

Honey process sits between washed and natural. The cherry is pulped to remove the skin, but some or all of the sticky mucilage is left on the seed while it dries, instead of being fermented and washed off. The name comes from that sticky layer (miel in Spanish), not from any honey. Drying takes one to three weeks and needs constant turning, because the coated seeds stick together and can mold.

The method spread in Costa Rica in the 2000s, as small farms built their own micro-mills and looked for ways to stand out, and it is now common across Central America. Honeys usually taste sweet and rounded, with softer acidity than a washed coffee and some of a natural's fruit.

Also called
Miel, pulped natural (Brazil's close cousin)
Drying
One to three weeks, turned often
Common in
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras
Tastes
Sweet and rounded, softer acidity
White, yellow, red and black honey
HoneyMucilage left onDryingIn the cup
WhiteVery littleFastest, in full sunClean and bright, closest to a washed coffee
YellowA little, roughly a quarterFast, mostly in sunLight body, gentle fruit and sweetness
RedAbout halfSlower, often with some shadeRounder and syrupy, more pronounced fruit
BlackNearly allSlowest, shaded and turned oftenHeavy, jammy body; deep sweetness, sometimes winey; closest to a natural

A rough guide, not a standard: each mill sets its own scale. Some remove different amounts of mucilage by machine; others leave it all on and set the color by how slowly the coffee dries.

Signature notes
honey, peach, caramel
Origins
Ethiopia (52), Costa Rica (45), Colombia (28), Honduras (21), El Salvador (19), Panama (11), Brazil (8), Burundi (8)
Varieties
Gesha (31), Catuai (21), Bourbon (17), Caturra (11), Parainema (11), Pacamara (10), 74158 (8), SL28 (7)
Flavors
Caramel & sugar (97), Stone fruit (86), Citrus (85), Floral (66), Red fruit (66), Tropical (65), Berry (55), Chocolate (35)

On the bag

White honey
Very little mucilage left on, closer to a washed coffee.
Micro-mill
A small mill on or near the farm, so a producer can process their own lots instead of selling cherry to a big mill.

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All processes