The name 'honey process' is one of the more confusing terms for anyone new to coffee.

'Honey,' in this case, doesn't mean the producer adds honey to the coffee beans. The name refers to the mucilage layer that surrounds the bean after the skin and fruit pulp have been removed.

Understanding this correctly helps distinguish a processing method from a coffee with flavoring or added ingredients.

"Honey" Is the Mucilage Layer Around the Bean

After the cherry's skin is removed, a layer of natural mucilage can still remain on the surface of the bean.

This layer contains water, sugars and other organic components. Depending on how it's handled, a producer may choose to keep part of that mucilage on the bean during drying.

That's the basis of honey process.

No Honey Is Actually Added

The name likely comes from how that mucilage layer feels — sticky, like a layer of honey coating the bean — rather than from any honey actually being used.

If a product genuinely has honey added to it, that's an entirely different matter and would need to be reflected in the product's actual ingredients.

Honey process is a coffee-processing method, not a way of adding honey flavor.

The Process Starts With a Ripe Cherry

Like other processing methods, the quality of honey process depends on the raw material going in.

Cherries picked at the right ripeness make for easier handling. After harvest, the cherries are received and their skins removed.

The skin is discarded, but a certain amount of mucilage is kept on the bean before it's dried.

From here, controlling the process becomes very important.

The Mucilage Layer Shapes the Drying Process

The remaining mucilage layer contains organic components and holds water.

As the beans dry, the amount of this material affects the drying speed and the changes happening on the bean's surface.

If drying conditions aren't suitable, the process can drag on or unfold unevenly.

The producer needs to track moisture, environmental conditions, the thickness of the bean layer and how it's turned, so the process unfolds properly.

The Name Does Not Tell You the Full Extent of Processing

Honey process isn't just one single style.

In practice, the amount of mucilage retained and how it's handled can vary. Terms like yellow honey, red honey or black honey are commonly used in the industry to describe approaches with different levels of retained mucilage and different drying conditions.

That said, naming conventions aren't perfectly consistent across producers. So a drinker shouldn't rely solely on the color in the name to guess the exact flavor.

What matters more is the actual method being used.

How does honey process affect flavor?

Retaining the mucilage layer during drying creates different conditions than a fully washed process.

That can affect aroma, perceived sweetness and the structure of the taste.

But it can't be said that honey process always produces a honey-like sweetness.

A coffee's final taste still depends on the variety, the growing region, ripeness, drying, storage and roasting.

'Honey' is not a flavor that's added in.

Honey Process and "Purely Natural"

What's interesting about honey process is that it shows 'natural' in coffee is never a simple concept.

The producer still uses equipment to remove the skin, controls the drying process and handles the bean carefully. But the material that forms the mucilage layer is a natural part of the coffee cherry itself.

For An Khương, understanding 'Purely Natural' this way doesn't mean rejecting technique. On the contrary, technique is what lets natural processes unfold under conditions that can actually be controlled.

Distinguishing a Processing Method From a Product's Ingredients

If a bag of coffee lists honey process, a buyer should understand that as information about how the bean was processed.

If a product genuinely contains real honey, that honey must be listed as an ingredient and disclosed according to the relevant labeling requirements.

These are two completely different situations.

One is a method for handling the bean after harvest. The other is adding a different ingredient into the product.

This is exactly why the name 'honey process' should never be read literally.

A Confusing Name That Still Tells a Fascinating Story

Honey process shows that coffee can travel many different paths from cherry to green bean.

Simply by changing how the fruit is removed and how drying is handled, the raw material can develop in a different direction.

There's no need to add honey to create sweetness. No need for flavoring to turn coffee into something else.

The producer only needs to understand the cherry itself, control the process, and let the raw material's own characteristics come through.

That's also a very fitting way to understand the spirit of 'Purely Natural' that An Khương pursues.