Washed process
Unlike natural or dry processed coffees,
washed processed coffees are called the opposite—wet processed!
In this scenario, machines called depulpers remove the seeds
from the cherries before drying them. However, it is not just
any cherry that gets seed removal. These cherries must have the
perfect amount of ripeness to make sure they are sweet enough,
and go through a sorter for density.
Wet hulled
Wet hulled coffee, not to be confused with washed/wet process, can also be called semi-washed coffee.
During this processing method, depulping machines remove the seeds from the cherries. However, rather
than move to drying beds, the cherries get stored in plastic tanks. The mucilage also remains on the
seeds, and much moisture is retained. At this point, the mucilage has created a thick husk that
encapsulates the seeds. They then go through a process called hulling to remove it, along with parchment
(the dry flakes covering a bean) that surrounds the seeds, and laid out to dry afterwards.
