Coffee Processing Methods: What Australian Roasters Actually Use
Espresso Of Interest Research · March 2026
Every coffee bean starts as a fruit. How you remove that fruit — and what happens during fermentation — shapes the cup more than almost any other variable. We analysed processing method data across 12,040 products from 809 Australian roasters to map which methods dominate the market and where the experimental edge is heading.
How much do we know?
Of the 12,040 products in our database, 6,092 (50.6%) list a processing method. The remaining 5,948 (49.4%) don't disclose how their coffee was processed — a gap that's especially common among blends and entry-level offerings.
The market share
Among the 6,092 products with process data, here is how each method ranks. The percentages show share of all process-labelled beans.
A primer on each method
Processing is where coffee stops being agriculture and starts becoming flavour. Here is what each method actually does to the bean — and why it matters in the cup.
Washed (Wet Process)
40.3% of marketThe fruit is mechanically removed and the beans are fermented in water to break down the remaining mucilage before drying. Washed coffees are prized for clarity: clean acidity, floral aromatics, and a transparent expression of terroir.
Natural (Dry Process)
38.1% of marketThe coffee cherry is dried whole, with the fruit still on the seed. This extended contact produces heavy body and pronounced fruit-forward flavours — blueberry, strawberry, tropical notes. It is the oldest processing method and thrives in regions with consistent dry heat.
Honey Process
6.1% of marketA hybrid between natural and washed. The skin is removed but some or all of the sticky mucilage ("honey") is left on during drying. The result splits the difference: more sweetness and body than washed, more clarity than natural. Sub-categories (yellow, red, black) reflect how much mucilage remains.
Anaerobic Fermentation
3.9% of marketBeans are fermented in sealed, oxygen-free tanks. Controlling the fermentation environment lets producers dial in specific flavour compounds — intense florals, wine-like qualities, and unusual candy-like sweetness. It is the vanguard of experimental processing.
Carbonic Maceration
0.6% of marketBorrowed from winemaking (Beaujolais Nouveau uses the same technique), whole cherries are placed in CO₂-rich sealed tanks. The intracellular fermentation creates juicy, vibrant, often candy-like cups with intense aromatics.
Wet Hulled (Giling Basah)
0.5% of marketTraditional to Sumatra and Sulawesi, the parchment is removed while the bean is still wet (around 50% moisture). This produces the earthy, herbal, low-acid profile characteristic of Indonesian coffees — love it or hate it, it is unmistakable.
Thermal Shock
0.2% of marketA recent innovation where cherries are rapidly alternated between hot and cold water baths before extended fermentation. The temperature swings crack cell walls open, allowing deeper penetration of fermentation compounds. Still rare and highly experimental.
Top roasters by method
Which roasters lean heaviest into each processing style? Here are the top five roasters by product count for each major method.
Washed (Wet Process)
| Roaster | Products |
|---|---|
| Proud Mary Coffee | 404 |
| Five Senses Coffee | 114 |
| Commonfolk Coffee | 105 |
| Josie Coffee | 80 |
| Central Coast Coffee | 63 |
Natural (Dry Process)
| Roaster | Products |
|---|---|
| Proud Mary Coffee | 570 |
| Passport Specialty Coffee | 104 |
| Commonfolk Coffee | 94 |
| Central Coast Coffee | 94 |
| Five Senses Coffee | 71 |
Honey Process
| Roaster | Products |
|---|---|
| Proud Mary Coffee | 90 |
| Five Senses Coffee | 33 |
| Central Coast Coffee | 19 |
| Josie Coffee | 14 |
| Adelaide Coffee Bean Roaster | 12 |
Anaerobic Fermentation
| Roaster | Products |
|---|---|
| Proud Mary Coffee | 151 |
| Passport Specialty Coffee | 31 |
| Five Senses Coffee | 20 |
| Central Coast Coffee | 16 |
| Commonfolk Coffee | 15 |
Carbonic Maceration
What this tells us
The dominance of natural and washed processing is not a surprise — these are the two foundational methods of specialty coffee, and they have decades of infrastructure behind them. What is interesting is the scale of the gap between the traditional pair and everything else.
Honey processing, despite being the “third way” that Costa Rica popularised in the 2000s, still represents a relatively small slice of the Australian market. It suggests that while roasters appreciate honey lots, they are not building their ranges around them.
The real story is the experimental tier. Anaerobic fermentation and carbonic maceration combined are carving out meaningful market share — a signal that Australian roasters are willing to bet on innovation. These methods give producers unprecedented control over flavour development, and the results show up as the kind of intense, polarising cups that drive conversation and competition scores.
Thermal shock and wet hulling remain niche. Thermal shock because it is genuinely new; wet hulling because it is specific to Indonesian coffees and Australian palates have historically leaned toward cleaner cup profiles.
The broader takeaway: Australian specialty coffee is still anchored by the classics, but the experimental edge is growing fast. If the trajectory holds, expect anaerobic and carbonic lots to move from “limited release” to permanent fixture within the next few seasons.
Explore the roasters behind the data
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