Picking and processing methods of coffee beans

The harvest time is different in different countries and regions. The harvest process requires a lot of manpower, especially high-quality selected coffee, which can only pick fully ripe red coffee cherries. Because all coffee cherries don't ripen at the same time, you need to go back to the same tree many times to pick.

Coffee beans come from a mature seed called coffee cherry (cherries), which is named because of its bright red color.

Generally speaking, coffee beans can be processed in two ways: washing (wet method) and drying (dry or unwashed method).

■ washing (wet method)

Remove the pulp from the outer layer of the coffee cherry and soak it in a large cement tank filled with water. After fermentation, the water-washed coffee will have a distinctive and clear flavor. The fermented coffee beans are washed with clean water, then removed from the water and dried in the sun or machine. Finally, the peel and silver peel are removed by a sheller, which can be screened and divided into different grades of raw coffee beans.

■ drying (dry method)

The method of treatment is to put the coffee cherries on the exposure field for two weeks and sweep them with a rake several times a day so that the coffee beans can be dried more evenly. When dried, the coffee beans are separated from the skin, and the dried pulp and peel are removed by a sheller, then screened and graded into different grades.

Both washing and drying can produce the best quality coffee. Generally speaking, water-washed coffee has more distinct acidity and consistent flavor, while dry coffee has lower acidity and more varied flavor. Colombia, Kenya, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, and Hawaii all use water washing methods. Most of the coffee produced in countries including Brazil, Ethiopia and Indonesia is dried, but some water-washed coffees are also produced.

The selection and grading of coffee depends on the particle size and concentration of beans, as well as the number of defective beans in a pound (broken beans under ripe beans, etc.). Like the best wine, the careful handling and selection of professional coffee in the production process can be seen in the quality of the beans, because the product will have a unique representation, which represents the origin, climate and growers.