How the processing methods of Coffee affect the Flavor | the effect of washing on the Flavor of Coffee

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Steps of washing treatment

What is washed coffee and why is it popular? The treatment is to first remove the skin and flesh of the coffee beans with water. But is that enough? The method of washing is actually much more complicated than this.

1. Sorting

The picked coffee fruits will be sorted first, sorting out the immature or defective ones.

Told me some common sorting methods for Colombian coffee beans. First of all, put the coffee fruit into the water and pick out the ones that float on the surface.

The coffee beans floating on the water are basically defective. "

The density of high-quality coffee beans is higher than that of water, while low-quality coffee beans will surface because the seeds are immature and there is air inside.

Because the quality of coffee beans is different, after sorting, different quality coffee beans will be sold in different markets at different prices.

two。 Peel and pulp

The next step is to use a pulp separator to remove the peel and pulp. In this step, the screening of coffee fruits is very important. If coffee fruits of different sizes are treated with a pulp separator, it is difficult to completely remove the peel and flesh of all coffee fruits.

Bags of coffee fruit are poured into the pulp separator

3. Ferment

The third step is fermentation. Because the peeled and fleshy coffee beans are also coated with pectin, the microbes in the coffee beans produce molds that decompose the pectin during fermentation. Carlos and Gloria told me that in traditional methods, the fermentation time of coffee beans usually lasts 18-24 hours, depending on the ambient temperature and the quality of coffee beans.

There is still a lot of controversy about the application of water washing treatment, among which the most concerned issue is water. Water washing treatment uses a large amount of water, which is a very serious problem in areas where water is scarce, and if the waste water is not treated properly, it may also cause local water sources to be contaminated by chemicals. So some coffee associations and machinery manufacturers are committed to improving washing treatment to reduce the waste of water resources and the harm to the environment.

4. Drying

The last step of washing treatment is drying, but even the last step should not be relaxed. "drying is the most problematic operation and must be handled carefully, otherwise coffee beans are easy to mildew and rot."

Small growers will use the sun method to dry coffee beans, while most growers will use machines to dry, which can greatly shorten the drying time. "there are also some growers who mix the two methods. Coffee beans are usually exposed to the sun for one or two days before using the machine. In this way, we can not only get high-quality coffee beans, but also reduce energy waste. "

The reason why washing treatment has become one of the most common and popular treatment methods is mainly because the flavor of washed coffee beans is pure, and you can feel the original flavor of bean seeds and producing areas through bright acidity, light sweetness and flower aroma.

The real challenge of washing treatment is how to minimize its harm to the environment. With the application of new machinery and equipment and the promotion of the new planting concept, the method of washing treatment is very different from that of ten years ago.

If you see water for coffee next time you go to a cafe, you can give it a try. Be sure to savor the coffee flavor mentioned in the flavor description.

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