The neglected peel of coffee in those years

The coffee peel comes from the coffee fruit, that is, the red fruit we pick from the coffee tree. After the fruit is de-starched, we get raw coffee beans with mucous membrane and parchment. Parchment is like a protective layer of seeds, wrapped in coffee beans. The weight of raw beans accounts for 20% of the total fruit weight, the peel accounts for nearly 50%, and parchment accounts for 5%. The fruit contains 55% moisture, which will be reduced to 11% after drying. During the processing of raw beans, the coffee will lose 80% of its weight, which means that we use only 20% of the original weight of the fruit.

In the past, coffee peel was usually used to make fertilizer. However, if the pericarp is not fully dried or there are problems in the decomposition process, the acidity of the pericarp will be too high to be used as fertilizer. Too much acidity will lead to an increase in soil acidity, and people will need to use more fertilizers to neutralize it, so fresh untreated peels are not suitable for making fertilizer.

Some people mix the peel with other materials, such as chicken manure and cow dung or worms, and after months of degradation, cultivate microbes to make fertilizer. After picking, the coffee tree produces a lot of fruit (average 2kg/) and needs a lot of fertilizer to maintain its growth, so the fertilizer made from the pericarp is of great significance to the plantation.

But for me and the growers I've worked with, as well as many other bakers, coffee peels have other wonderful uses. Coffee peel itself can become a favorite commodity for consumers, so we are committed to exploring more value of coffee peel. This is also a good thing for growers. The pericarp accounts for 50% of the total fruit weight, and if you use it to make money, it means a lot to growers, who can generate income for the plantation in new ways.

Coffee peel is high in caffeine. I haven't done any experimental research, so I can't tell the exact amount, but I've been told that it has as much caffeine as coffee beans. So for people who don't like coffee, they can choose coffee peel to get caffeine.

The treatment of coffee peel seems simple, but in fact it is very complicated. The fruit must be perfectly ripe, and the fruit must remain 100% healthy. I think the most difficult part of peel treatment is the accuracy of desizing. A good machine can peel off and start fermentation without damaging the peel. Therefore, high-quality desizing machine is the key to deal with pericarp.

After desizing, the coffee beans will be placed on the drying bed to dry, and the raw beans need to be fully exposed to the sun. I think the pericarp also needs to be exposed to the sun, and the pericarp needs to be laid into a thin layer, spread on the sun bed, and hand-picked to remove impurities such as parchment, raw beans and leaves, and keep the quality pure.

Under sunny conditions, it takes 4-5 days for the peel to dry. The dry environment of the pericarp is very important, and the temperature and humidity must be just right, because once the environment changes, the pericarp will quickly turn brown, begin to ferment and taste sour, just like Basamick vinegar, and attract insects such as flies.

Therefore, the drying process of the peel must be strictly controlled to ensure that the color ranges from bright red to purple to purple like raisins and does not turn brown, and workers need to pick out the brown peel at any time during this period.

After 4-5 days of drying, the texture of the pericarp becomes the same as rubber, and the treatment of the pericarp should be completed initially. The pericarp of each bean seed tastes different. Some Pakamara beans have strong floral and red currant, raspberry and apple flavors and are bright and succulent on the palate. On the other hand, the peel of bourbon beans is very sweet, tastes like rose fruit, and the taste is more profound, somewhat like raisins. Therefore, by using the peels of different kinds of beans, we can create a variety of flavors.

Nowadays, the peel can also be processed in a processing plant. After the coffee fruit has been picked, many growers will choose the sun method, that is, after picking the fruit directly on the sun bed, after 2, 3, 4 or even 5 weeks of drying, until the moisture is reduced to 11%. After that, they bag the fruit and leave it for 15-40 days, when the sugar in the fruit becomes more stable and the taste is more refined and purer.

Many of the plantations we work with, such as Finca Deborah and Morgan Estate run by my good friend Jamison Savage in Panama, peel the fruit after setting the coffee. When shelling, the dried peel (rather than parchment) is separated and the peeled dry peel is used. This method is called "sun peel". The method mentioned above is temporarily called "de-pulping peel". Sun peel has a sweeter taste and a richer flavor. In my opinion, the acidity of the peel is not as good as that of the peel, and its quality is completely different from that of the peel, just like the difference between washed coffee and sun-cured coffee. The taste of the depulped peel is more fresh and delicate, while the sun-dried peel has a stronger aroma and taste, a thicker taste and a deeper taste. The above two are common peel treatment methods.

You may ask, how should the peel be drunk? There are many ways to brew the peel, which can be cold and extracted all night, or can be brewed like tea. We used to make hot tea or ice drinks from peels. Recently, we are trying to extract it all night and then carbonate it the next day to make carbonated drinks. Sometimes we add a small amount of lemons, oranges or bitters to create different flavors, which sell well in the store. In my opinion, carbonated peel tea is an exciting and innovative drink. It is absolutely 100% natural, without any pigment or sugar, and is full of caffeine and tastes great.

This is the peel of coffee.