Sun-Dried: How Our Coffee Is Processed in Arehalli
Our Arabica is sun-dried, the natural way. What that means, why it takes weeks, and how it brings the sweetness to your cup.
On every bag of Āne, next to “process”, it says sun-dried. Two words for weeks of patient work. It shapes the taste of this coffee more than almost anything that happens after the harvest.
What sun-drying means
A coffee bean is the seed of a fruit, the coffee cherry. After picking, the seed has to be separated from the fruit, and the way that is done is called processing. In the washed process, the fruit is stripped away early with water and machines. In the natural, or sun-dried, process, which is ours, the whole cherry is laid out in the sun, and the seed spends weeks drying inside its own fruit.
All that time together changes the seed. Sugars and fruit move inward. Done with care, it gives a rounder, sweeter cup with more body. It is a large part of why our Single Origin Arabica tastes smooth and gently sweet.
Natural and washed, side by side
| Natural (sun-dried) | Washed | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | The whole cherry dries in the sun, with the seed inside its fruit, for weeks | Water and machines strip the fruit away early |
| What it needs | Sun, air and attention | Water and a wet mill |
| Waste | No wastewater to treat | Wastewater from the wet mill |
The patient part
The cherries are spread thin, then raked and turned, day after day, so they dry evenly. Too fast and the cup goes flat. Too slow and the fruit spoils. It asks for sun, air and attention more than water or machines. In Arehalli the harvest falls in the dry months of December and January, so the weather and the method have suited each other for generations.
It is also gentler on the land. No wet mills, no wastewater to treat. On small farms like the ones in Arehalli, that matters.
How it is done in Arehalli
- Pick. In December and January, the ripe cherries are picked by hand, in several rounds.
- Spread. The whole cherries are spread thin in the sun.
- Turn. They are raked and turned every day, so they dry evenly.
- Wait. Drying takes weeks. Then the coffee rests and is milled, and the seed comes away from the dried fruit.
- Roast. It comes to us, and we roast it in small batches, medium-dark.
Tasting the process
Brew our Arabica gently, in a French press or a pour-over, and taste it black first. The sweetness you notice is not added, and it does not come from the roast. It is the fruit, remembered by the seed.
Is the Signature Blend sun-dried too?
The coffee in it is. Our Signature Blend is 80% of the same Arehalli Arabica, with 20% roasted chicory.
Questions we are asked
Is natural process the same as sun-dried?
Yes. Natural process means the whole cherry is dried, usually in the sun, before the seed is taken out.
Does sun-dried coffee taste fruity?
The fruit’s sugars move into the seed as it dries. Done with care, the result is a rounder, sweeter cup with more body.
When is coffee harvested in Arehalli?
In the dry months of December and January.
Is natural processing better for the land?
It needs no wet mill, so there is no wastewater to treat. On small farms, that matters.
To follow the rest of the journey, read how the coffee grows in Arehalli or what single origin really means. The coffee itself is in the Catalogue.