The coffee bean, as we know it, is the seed of the coffee cherry, and is surrounded by various protective skins and the pulp inside the cherry. After the ripe coffee fruit has been harvested, it is processed in a variety of ways, each of which takes the profile in a slightly different direction. Washed coffee beans are de-pulped, i.e. the pulp/cherry is removed, washed and then dried in the sun. This type of processing gives the coffee a clear structure and often a more pronounced acid profile. Natural processed coffee beans dry surrounded by the pulp, i.e. in the coffee cherry. The pulp is only removed from the bean after drying. During the drying process, sugar and aromas migrate from the pulp into the bean. Compared to washed coffees, natural coffees taste sweeter, fuller and often have fermentation flavours.