How to grade the coffee beans after honey treatment? What is the difference between black honey, red honey and yellow honey?

Professional coffee knowledge exchange more coffee bean information please follow the coffee workshop (Wechat official account cafe_style)

Speaking of honey-treated coffee beans how to grade?

The honey treatment of raw coffee beans is to remove the peel and pulp and retain some or all of the mucous membranes (honey).

Today, some Costa Rican growers grade honey-treated coffee beans according to the color of the coffee. There are three levels: yellow, red and black. The change in color results from the length of light during the drying process of coffee.

When you want to buy honey-treated coffee, you usually have the choice of yellow honey, red honey and black honey. You may have heard of these honey treatments to retain the percentage of pectin layer, and what does this mean?

Coffee farmers will classify coffee, some will retain less pectin layer so that they can be exposed faster, while others will retain more pectin layer and require longer exposure time. Yellow honey (about 25% of the pectin layer) in order to finish faster during exposure, it must be carried out in the least shaded environment (clouds, shade trees) to get a yellow appearance. Red honey (which retains about 50% of the pectin layer) takes longer and needs some shelter to expose itself. Black honey (which retains about 100% of the pectin layer) is usually covered in order to extend the exposure time.