Straight from the cupping table, a question about our new “honey processed” El Salvador: where does the process get its name? The term does not allude to any bee-related additives to the coffee but rather the tactile feel of the mucilage layer after the cherry is removed. As the mucilage absorbs moisture during the drying process, the beans are left feeling sticky, as if covered in honey.
Although part of me want to claim that the moniker originates in coffees like El Olvido tasting as great as “Honey”, the 1997 hit song by Mariah Carey. Just brew a pot this week and quietly hum “You know sugar never ever was so sweet / And I’m dying for you / Crying for you / I adore you”. The connection is pretty clear.
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Lee Knuttila 