Yellow Bean — Cafeteria

Yellow honey is the middle path between a washed coffee and a natural one. The skin comes off the cherry, but most of the sticky fruit layer stays on the seed while it dries, and the farm turns the beds by hand through the whole drying window so nothing ferments unevenly. What you get is a cup with the clarity of a washed coffee and a good deal more sweetness.

This lot comes from a single grower we have bought from for six seasons running, picked ripe and dried slowly over about fourteen days. We roast it light, stopping shortly after first crack, because the sugars are already there and pushing further would only flatten them.

Brew it as filter. A V60 at a 1:16 ratio with water just off the boil shows it best; an AeroPress works if you keep the steep short. It makes a bright, syrupy espresso too, but you will want a finer grind than you are used to.

Tasting notes

Honeycomb, yellow stone fruit, and a hint of nectarine
Brown sugar sweetness that lingers
Bright but rounded acidity, light-medium body
Best as a filter coffee, black