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Post-harvest processing · Method

Pulped natural

A Brazilian semi-dry method, cereja descascado (CD), in which ripe cherries are pulped and the parchment is dried with its mucilage still on, without fermentation or washing.

Source-checkedby Coffearium verification pass· Last source-checked 8 Oct 2026· Prepared with AI assistance· 20 sources (15 tier A)· 3 contested· Updated 8 Oct 2026
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Contents
  • The skin and pulp are removed mechanically, but the mucilage is not fermented or washed off – it dries on the parchment.1,3
  • In Brazil the method is called cereja descascado (CD), "peeled cherry"; green, unripe cherries resist the pulper and are dried apart as natural coffee.7,12
  • It sits between natural and washed coffee. In the FAO’s usage it differs from semi-washed coffee, where a machine strips the mucilage before drying – but the Codex uses "semi-washed" for exactly the CD route, and an importer for wet-hulled coffee.2,9,11,20
  • In Brazilian trials, CD and washed coffee gave better or equal cups than natural coffee from the same farms.3,5
A · Natural1B · Pulped natural (CD)23C · Semi-washed (FAO sense)4D · Washed56
  1. Natural. The whole cherry goes to drying: skin, pulp and mucilage dry on the seed, with no fermentation tank.3
  2. Pulper. Removes the skin and pulp; in the pulped natural, semi-washed and washed routes alike.3,9
  3. Pulped natural (cereja descascado, CD). No fermentation and no washing: all the mucilage stays on and dries on the parchment.1,3 Honey coffee differs by degree, with only a chosen share of the mucilage left on.10
  4. Demucilager. Semi-washed in the FAO’s sense: a machine strips the mucilage straight after pulping, with no fermentation tank.9 The Codex uses "semi-washed" for the CD route instead,11 and an importer for Indonesian wet-hulled coffee.20
  5. Fermentation tank. Washed coffee (despolpado in Brazil): the mucilage is removed by fermentation in water, then washed off.3
  6. Clean parchment. In semi-washed and washed coffee the seed goes to drying without mucilage.3,9
What is removed, and when, on four routes from cherry to drying patio. Schematic, not to scale.

How it is done#

  1. Harvest – in a Brazilian trial, cherries were picked by hand and processed on the day of harvest.3
  2. Pulping and separation – a pulper removes the skin and pulp. Unripe fruit is harder and does not pass through the pulper; it is taken out and dried separately as a lower-quality natural coffee.7,12
  3. No fermentation – in the CD method only the skin is taken off, and the seed goes to the drier with its mucilage still attached.3 No fermentation follows: the mucilage stays on and is dried along with the seed.1
  4. Drying – the sticky parchment is dried until it reaches about 11–12% moisture (basis not stated); a São Paulo state manual sets 11%, and a Bahia trial dried to 12%.2,3,12 The same manual spreads CD in thin layers at the start of patio drying and loads it into a mechanical dryer only once the mucilage has dried in the sun, so the beans do not stick together.12 Thin layers and regular turning apply as for any parchment coffee (see Reference protocol).11

Why Brazil uses it#

Brazil has traditionally dried its coffee whole, as natural coffee.7,8 Pulping the ripe cherries and drying them as CD lets a farm separate the unripe fruit: the green cherries do not pulp and leave the stream.7,12 In the early 2000s, a study of farms in southern Minas Gerais described CD coffee as gaining ground in more and more producing regions.4 A review names Brazil, and parts of Sulawesi and Sumatra, as the places where semi-dry processing is most regularly practised.2 A review says the method was developed in Brazil1; who first proposed it is not settled in the sources (see Open questions).7,8,18

Pulped natural, honey and semi-washed#

The terms overlap, and there are no standard definitions for them.8 The definitions used in this compendium are:

Process Skin and pulp Mucilage Fermentation tank Source
Natural Dried on the seed Dried on the seed No Lima et al.3
Pulped natural (CD) Removed by pulper All left on, dried on the parchment No Lima et al.3, Eckhardt et al.1
Honey Removed A chosen share left on, named by colour; in one review 20–80%, with yellow honey about 25% and black honey about 100% No Poltronieri & Rossi10
Semi-washed (FAO sense) Removed by pulper Removed by a demucilager straight after pulping No FAO9
Washed (despolpado in Brazil) Removed Removed by fermentation in water, then washed Yes Lima et al.3

Three points matter. First, pulped natural and semi-washed coffee (in the FAO’s sense) both skip the fermentation tank, but the semi-washed seed is dried without mucilage, because a machine has stripped it.9 The Codex, however, uses “semi-washed” for pulped beans dried within their mucilaginous parchment – the CD route in this table11 – and an importer lists “semi-washed” as another name for Indonesian wet-hulled coffee, a third process.20 Second, honey and pulped natural differ by degree: honey processing is defined by how much mucilage is kept, and by drying speed and shade, while CD keeps it all; the same review’s black honey, with about 100% of the mucilage, overlaps with CD.3,10 Third, that review describes its own “pulped natural” with fermentation, scrubbing and washing before a remaining mucilage layer dries on the bean, so the name alone does not tell a buyer what was done.10 The Brazilian word for washed coffee, despolpado, also catches readers out: it means pulped and fermented, not “pulped natural”.3

Pulping Mucilage Drying Hulling
Semi-dryincl. honey Skin + pulp off Left on Parchment + mucilage Parchment off
Washed Skin + pulp off Fermented, washed Parchment Parchment off
Natural None Left on Whole cherry Husk off

step takes place step skipped · all three end as green coffee

What stays on the seed during drying in the three processing families. Pulped natural belongs to the semi-dry family.2,11

Effect on the cup#

A review, citing trade sources, describes semi-dry coffee as having less body than natural coffee, with a bright, clean cup somewhat like washed coffee.2 In south-west Bahia, CD and washed coffee were both judged better suited to the region than natural coffee from the same three farms, which showed the most signs of physical, chemical and sensory loss.3 On one of those farms, the CD and washed lots were classed as soft (mole) with positive acidity, while the natural was hard (dura) with low acidity; on the other two all three methods were hard.3 In southern Minas Gerais, CD coffee grown at 920–1,120 m was of better quality than CD grown at 720–920 m.4

Reference protocol#

The table brings together the parameters reported in the sources. It is a range found in practice and research, not a single correct recipe.

Parameter Value reported Source
Raw material Ripe cherries; unripe fruit fails to pulp and is dried apart as natural Barista Hustle7
Time to pulping Same day as harvest (Bahia trial) Lima et al.3
Pulping Skin removed mechanically; mucilage left on Lima et al.3, Lima Filho et al.5
Fermentation None Eckhardt et al.1
Patio layer depth 3–5 cm (25–35 kg/m² of fresh parchment or cherry), turned regularly; parchment can be heaped and covered at night after one day of drying Codex11
Patio layer depth, CD No more than 2.5 cm at the start of drying, turned with a rake São Paulo manual12
Drying, Bahia trial Suspended patio under a greenhouse-type cover (estufa), to 12% moisture Lima et al.3
Mechanical drying, two stages Heated air of 35–50 °C to 30% moisture, then a second temperature to 11% Oliveira et al.6
Coffee (mass) temperature limit ≤ 40 °C for CD (parchment); ≤ 45 °C for natural coffee and floaters (bóia); ≤ 30 °C for green fruit São Paulo manual12
End point About 11–12% moisture; 11% (basis not stated) Haile & Kang2, São Paulo manual12
Comparison: parchment drying in the sun About 9–10 days (Lao PDR, parchment coffee) FAO9

Seed physiology during drying#

The seed is alive when it leaves the pulper, and processing switches on germination inside it. Germination activity peaked about two days after the start of wet processing, but only about a week after the start of dry processing.14 No study opened for this entry has timed this peak in CD coffee, which is pulped like washed coffee but not fermented under water.

What is known is how the seed copes with drying once the fruit is gone. Brazilian studies, mostly on washed or wet-processed parchment rather than CD, point the same way:

  • Pulped coffee tolerates drying better. In a study of seven drying regimes, pulped (wet-processed) coffee was more tolerant of drying than natural coffee, however it was dried; the abstract does not say whether the mucilage was removed.6
  • Membranes stay intact at moderate heat. In parchment coffee dried at 40 °C, the plasma membrane and vesicles of the endosperm cells showed no change.13
  • Fruit-dried seeds perform worse. In Catuaí Vermelho Arabica, wet-processed coffee showed greater tolerance to drying, with higher antioxidant-enzyme activity and better physiological performance, than natural coffee.19 In the underlying dissertation, seeds from washed (fermented) coffee germinated better than those from natural coffee after every drying method, and the author concluded that washed coffee has better physiological quality whatever the drying.17

Membrane damage shows up as leakage of cell contents: a rise in electrical conductivity is a strong sign of damage to the cell membrane.3 The Bahia study measured conductivity and potassium leaching on natural, CD and washed coffee.3

The São Paulo manual sets a lower mass temperature for CD coffee (40 °C) than for natural coffee (45 °C).12 The sources opened here do not explain the lower limit; the drying entry covers the temperature debate in full.

Chemistry: sugars, acids and extract#

Sugars. In Arabica, washed green coffee holds less glucose and fructose than natural coffee.15 Drying alone lowers them: in mechanically demucilaged Arabica dried with no process water present, both fell significantly within the first day, which shows the loss is at least in part metabolic, not leaching.16 CD coffee is pulped like washed coffee but dried with its mucilage like a honey, so its sugar level cannot simply be inferred from either; the sources opened here do not measure it.

Acids. A review, citing a Brazilian study, reports similar distributions of chlorogenic acid classes in semi-dry and washed coffee, but a statistically lower total in the semi-dry coffee, except for the di-caffeoylquinic acids.2

Extract and mass. In Canephora (conilon) from Espírito Santo, the aqueous extract of the roasted coffee (% m/m) was about the same for natural (26.50%) and CD coffee (26.40%), and much lower for washed coffee (19.08%).5 The authors explain the gap by fermentation: the beans stay wet and alive for longer, and lose mass through metabolism and respiration.5 In the same study, with only ripe cherries harvested, all three methods reached a global sensory score of 7.3–7.5 and were classed as gourmet.5

051015202530%Natural26.50%5 Pulped natural (CD)26.40%5 Washed (despolpado)19.08%5
Data table
%Source
Natural26.50%5
Pulped natural (CD)26.40%5
Washed (despolpado)19.08%5
Aqueous extract of roasted conilon coffee from Espírito Santo by processing method: CD sits with natural, not with washed coffee.5

Risks and defects#

  • Over-drying. In the survey of CD coffee from southern Minas Gerais, most samples were below the recommended moisture content.4
  • Heat damage. CD coffee has a lower mass-temperature limit in the dryer than natural coffee.12 In parchment coffee, too much heat breaks cell membranes, which shows up as higher electrical conductivity and lower germination.13,17
  • Unripe fruit. The green cherries that do not pulp are taken out and go to the natural lot.7,12
  • Wet climates. Mucilage-coated parchment needs thin layers and turning like any parchment.11 The sources opened for this entry give no measured data on fermentation defects in CD coffee during slow drying.

Open questions#

  • Who first proposed the method is unclear; its commercial take-off is placed in the early 1990s.7,8,18
  • The same name covers different practices: “semi-washed” means mucilage removed in one standard and kept in another, and is also a trade name for wet-hulled coffee; one review’s “pulped natural” includes fermentation.9,10,11,20
  • No study opened here measures sugars, organic acids or the timing of germination in CD coffee side by side with natural and washed coffee from the same lot.
  • Most Brazilian physiology studies compare natural with washed (despolpado) coffee; CD is less often a treatment of its own.17,19

Key studies#

Lima et al., 2008 – Three methods in south-west Bahia. Processed Catuaí Amarelo from three farms as natural, CD and washed coffee and compared colour, pH, electrical conductivity, potassium leaching and cup. Natural coffee showed the most loss of quality; CD and washed were recommended for the region.

Revista Ceres 55(2), 124–130 · redalyc.org

Lima Filho et al., 2013 – Conilon by processing method. Compared natural, CD and washed Canephora from Espírito Santo. CD stayed close to natural in aqueous extract, while washed coffee lost extract; with only ripe fruit harvested, all three were classed as gourmet.

Semina: Ciências Agrárias 34(4), 1723–1730 · doi:10.5433/1679-0359.2013v34n4p1723

Silva et al., 2004 – CD quality in southern Minas Gerais. Sampled CD coffee from 32 farms at two altitude bands and analysed moisture, acidity, sugars and cup. Higher farms gave better coffee, and most samples were below the recommended moisture content.

Ciência e Agrotecnologia 28(6), 1367–1375 · doi:10.1590/S1413-70542004000600020

Oliveira et al., 2018 – Natural vs pulped in two-stage drying. Dried natural and pulped (wet-processed) coffee on a patio and in fixed-bed dryers with six two-stage air-temperature sequences between 35 and 50 °C. Pulped coffee tolerated every regime better than natural coffee.

Coffee Science 13(4), 415–425 · doi:10.25186/cs.v13i4.1435

Contested
  • Origin of the method: a trade-education source attributes the first proposal of the pulped natural method to the Brazilian agronomists Barros Ferraz and Ary de Arruda Veiga7 (its date is not confirmed by a Tier A source opened for this entry), while a green-coffee importer reports that the Brazilian equipment maker Pinhalense claims the first cereja descascado.8 A peer-reviewed economic study places the commercial viability of the technology in Pinhal (São Paulo) in the early 1990s, through the development of the pulping equipment, without naming a maker.18 The two trade claims may refer to the first proposal and the first commercial system.
  • Terms overlap: a review treats "semi-dry" and "pulped natural" as the same process and also calls it semi-wet2; the FAO uses "semi-washed" for pulping followed by mechanical mucilage removal9, while the Codex uses "semi-washed" for pulped beans dried within their mucilaginous parchment11, and an importer lists it as another name for wet-hulled coffee (giling basah)20; a specialty-coffee review describes a "pulped natural" route that includes fermentation, scrubbing and washing before a remaining mucilage layer dries on the bean10; and an importer notes that one producer’s honey may be another’s semi-washed, with only a slight consensus that pulped naturals keep more fruit than semi-washed coffees.8
  • Sugars in pulped natural coffee: in Arabica, washed coffee holds less glucose and fructose than natural coffee15, and in wet-processed Arabica the decrease has been shown to be at least in part due to metabolic processes, not leaching into process water16; no study opened for this entry measured these sugars in CD coffee, so where it falls between the two is an open question.
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Sources

  1. AEckhardt, S.; Franke, H.; Schwarz, S.; Lachenmeier, D. W. (2022). Risk Assessment of Coffee Cherry (Cascara) Fruit Products for Flour Replacement and Other Alternative Food Uses. Molecules 27(23), 8435. doi:10.3390/molecules27238435 · other copies
  2. BHaile, M.; Kang, W. H. (2019). The Harvest and Post-Harvest Management Practices' Impact on Coffee Quality. Coffee – Production and Research, IntechOpen. doi:10.5772/intechopen.89224 · other copies
  3. ALima, M. V.; et al. (2008). Preparo do café despolpado, cereja descascado e natural na região sudoeste da Bahia. Revista Ceres 55(2), 124–130.
  4. ASilva, R. F.; Pereira, R. G. F. A.; Borém, F. M.; Muniz, J. A. (2004). Qualidade do café-cereja descascado produzido na região sul de Minas Gerais. Ciência e Agrotecnologia 28(6), 1367–1375. doi:10.1590/S1413-70542004000600020 · other copies
  5. ALima Filho, T.; Della Lucia, S. M.; Saraiva, S. H.; Sartori, M. A. (2013). Composição físico-química e qualidade sensorial de café conilon produzido no Estado do Espírito Santo e submetido a diferentes formas de processamento. Semina: Ciências Agrárias 34(4), 1723–1730. doi:10.5433/1679-0359.2013v34n4p1723 · other copies
  6. AOliveira, P. D.; Biaggioni, M. A. M.; Borém, F. M.; Isquierdo, E. P.; Damasceno, M. O. V. (2018). Quality of natural coffee and pulped in the function of temperature alternation during mechanical drying. Coffee Science 13(4), 415–425. doi:10.25186/cs.v13i4.1435 · other copies
  7. BBarista Hustle CBGB 5.04 Traditional Processing. Barista Hustle.
  8. BKornman, C. (2018). Hybrid Processing Methods. Royal Coffee.
  9. AWinston, E.; Op de Laak, J.; Marsh, T.; Lempke, H.; Chapman, K. (2005). Arabica coffee manual for Lao-PDR. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok.
  10. APoltronieri, P.; Rossi, F. (2016). Challenges in Specialty Coffee Processing and Quality Assurance. Challenges 7(2), 19. doi:10.3390/challe7020019 · other copies
  11. ACodex Alimentarius Commission (FAO/WHO) (2009). Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Ochratoxin A Contamination in Coffee (CAC/RCP 69-2009). Codex Alimentarius.
  12. ASistema de Qualidade de Produtos Agrícolas, Pecuários e Agroindustriais do Estado de São Paulo Manual de Qualidade: Boas Práticas de Produção de Café. Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento do Estado de São Paulo (Codeagro).
  13. ABorém, F. M.; Marques, E. R.; Alves, E. (2008). Ultrastructural analysis of drying damage in parchment Arabica coffee endosperm cells. Biosystems Engineering 99(1), 62–66. doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2007.09.027 · other copies
  14. ABytof, G.; Knopp, S.-E.; Kramer, D.; Breitenstein, B.; Bergervoet, J. H. W.; Groot, S. P. C.; Selmar, D. (2007). Transient occurrence of seed germination processes during coffee post-harvest treatment. Annals of Botany 100(1), 61–66. doi:10.1093/aob/mcm068 · other copies
  15. AKnopp, S.; Bytof, G.; Selmar, D. (2006). Influence of processing on the content of sugars in green Arabica coffee beans. European Food Research and Technology 223, 195–201. doi:10.1007/s00217-005-0172-1 · other copies
  16. AKleinwächter, M.; Selmar, D. (2010). Influence of drying on the content of sugars in wet processed green Arabica coffees. Food Chemistry 119, 500–504. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.06.048 · other copies
  17. BTaveira, J. H. S. (2009). Aspectos fisiológicos e bioquímicos associados à qualidade de bebida de café submetido a diferentes métodos de processamento e secagem. Universidade Federal de Lavras (master's dissertation).
  18. AVegro, C. L. R.; Fronzaglia, T.; Veiga Filho, A. A. (2009). Impactos econômicos da tecnologia do café cereja descascado. Cadernos de Ciência & Tecnologia 26(1/3), 93–113.
  19. ATaveira, J. H. S.; Rosa, S. D. V. F.; Borém, F. M.; Giomo, G. S.; Saath, R. (2012). Perfis proteicos e desempenho fisiológico de sementes de café submetidas a diferentes métodos de processamento e secagem. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira 47(10), 1511–1517.
  20. BWet-Hulled (aka Semi-Washed, Sumatra Process, Giling Basah). Cafe Imports.

Tier A · authoritative · B · trade and expert · C · general. Supporting quotes for every source are in the data version of this entry. If a publisher’s site refuses access, try the doi link or “other copies”.

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