How does the treatment of raw beans affect the flavor of coffee?

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Did you know that coffee is brewed by the barista according to different brewing temperatures and different coffee grinds, but in fact, the flavor of coffee is determined by the processing method of coffee beans? What do you mean? Come on! Come with me ~ understand carefully

Coffee produces a variety of flavors under the influence of many factors, such as hazelnut flavor, caramel flavor and so on. Different coffee varieties have their own different flavors, such as mantenin, Costa Rica and other varieties. The way coffee beans are processed has a lasting effect on the flavor of coffee, so the way coffee is processed is very important.

Coffee farmers usually sun, wash, honey or otherwise treat coffee cherries. Different countries and regions have slightly different processing methods, so here are three of the most popular coffee bean processing methods and how they affect coffee flavor.

exposed to sunlight

Region: Ethiopia, Brazil

Flavor characteristics: flavor diversity and obvious; rich fruit flavor. The coffee flavor extracted is generally stronger. Juice feeling full, creamy feeling obvious, and 90+'s candle light, honey kiss is this processing method of obvious flavor beans

Solarization is also known as drying or solarization. When coffee cherries are ripe, they are picked first and then dried. When they are dried to a certain moisture content, the peel must be removed. Drying is a traditional method of processing coffee beans. After harvesting, the fruit needs to be dried by natural sun, and some mechanical drying is carried out simultaneously. The process is: harvesting → solarization field (sunlight exposure)→ shelling machine (removing pulp, etc.)→ classification (electronic bean sorting machine or manual selection, sieve, etc.)→ export.

The best sun treatment is drying on common African drying beds, which is a high quality treatment. And a small number of people will be placed directly on the ground to dry directly, and there may be a soil flavor.

Solarization is the oldest method of coffee treatment and the most prevalent in well-known regions such as Brazil and Ethiopia. In the past, coffee farmers in many areas used sun treatment on coffee beans that were not suitable for export, which saved energy and time, so this method was not very popular. It is only in the last two years that the specialty coffee industry has realized its potential for high quality, solarization to enhance coffee's body and release its full range of flavors. Sun-treated coffee beans have a strong and distinct flavor.

water washing treatment

Region: Latin America, USA

Common flavor: carambola, dark chocolate, all kinds of flowers, etc.; coffee flavor mellow, smooth and pure taste, sour obvious.

Washed coffee beans are more affable and require the beans to be desized in a fermenter. First, coffee cherries are picked and placed directly into a giant funnel, where water transports the cherries to a large reservoir, separating damaged and less dense cherries. Good cherries sink to the bottom and are sent to a desizing facility where they sit for 36-72 hours.

Washed coffees taste cleaner, but that's not to say they're inherently better, it's just that the beans express their flavor more clearly, more of the beans themselves than the rich fruit flavor. Washed coffee beans usually have a more pronounced sour taste. Acetic acid enhances the sourness of coffee because the sugar in coffee pulp naturally produces acetic acid during fermentation. Therefore, it is necessary to balance the pH value of coffee beans during fermentation, otherwise the acid will continue to increase and make the coffee too acidic.

honey treatment

Region: Brazil, Central America

Common Flavors: Pleasant sweetness, jam flavor and dense lipid, honey-like delicate.

Why is it called honey treatment?

There are three ways to process coffee: solarization (natural drying), washing and honey treatment. Sun-drying, as the name suggests, is a method of naturally drying coffee beans after harvest; washing is a method of removing jelly from the surface by fermentation after peeling the pulp; and honey treatment is a compromise between the two methods, which is a method of drying the fruit with the endocarp after peeling the pulp. Many people hear the name honey processing and think it is a process using honey, or that the coffee will taste like honey after processing, but it is not. The fruit gets its name from the fact that the gelatinous substance on the surface of the core evaporates during drying and becomes as viscous as honey.

Because the honey treatment causes pectin to remain on the coffee beans, the honey treated coffee beans will take on different colors, and the darker the color, the more pectin remains.

No matter which method is used, it has its own charm, and it is surprising and interesting to discover the different flavors of each bean.