The honey process, explained.

Honey process means leaving the sticky inner layer — the mucilage — on the bean during drying. That layer is sugar, mostly, and it caramelises slowly under low Cau Dat sun. We use raised African beds, eight to twenty-two days, turned by hand twice a day. The result is sweeter, fuller, with a syrupy body that washed coffees rarely have.

It is also unforgiving. Mucilage spoils. Too much moisture, and you ferment past the point you wanted. Too little turning, and the bottom of the bed develops a wet pocket. We lost half a lot to this once, in 2021. We still keep that lot's logbook on a shelf — to read on years we feel confident.