The treatment of raw coffee beans which methods of coffee bean treatment have their own characteristics?

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Introduction to Qianjie-Coffee treatment

Solarization method

Due to the lack of local water resources, this oldest method of processing is still used in many countries. Freshly picked coffee fruits are simply spread over a wide area of the ground and exposed to the sun. In order to prevent fresh fruit from spoiling, they are constantly raked throughout the day and covered at night to prevent them from getting wet because of possible rain. Depending on the weather, the processing of each batch of fresh coffee may last for several weeks. Until the moisture content of the fresh fruit drops to 11%, the sun-dried fresh fruit is transported to the warehouse for storage.

Washing method

In the water washing method, the fresh coffee fruit is removed from the pulp that only retains the endocarp after picking and dried. There are several processes in it. First of all, the fresh coffee fruit separates the skin from the pulp through a pulp separation machine. Rinse the pulp with water and dry under the canopy. Coffee beans are transported in the waterway and separated by weight. Lighter coffee beans float on the surface of the water, while heavier mature coffee beans sink to the bottom.

The coffee beans then pass through a series of rotating iron buckets and separate them according to size. After separation, the coffee beans are transported to a large fermentor filled with water. It depends on a combination of factors-such as coffee beans, climate and altitude. These coffee beans will be stored in a fermentor for 12 to 48 hours. The purpose of this step is to remove the smooth mucus layer (called pectin layer) that is still attached to the inner pericarp. The enzymes produced by the natural fermentation of coffee beans in the fermentor decompose the pectin layer. When the fermentation is finished, the coffee beans will feel rough and no longer smooth. Now the coffee beans will be washed through another waterway. Then you can get ready to dry.

If the fresh coffee fruit is processed by washing, the pulp and fermented raw beans must be dried to about 11% for storage. The beans are still wrapped in parchment (endocarp) and can be spread on the sun table or on the ground and turned regularly, or dried in a large drum dryer. When the coffee beans are dried, they are called "coffee beans with endocarp" and stored in sisal or jute bags for export.

At that time, Costa Rica invented honey treatment in order to improve the sweetness and fruity of coffee beans. Because, the coffee beans with pectin in the outdoor slow sun, is an important step in honey treatment. This step will allow beans to fully absorb the fruit aroma and sugar of the pectin layer.

Therefore, from the effect on flavor, the name of "honey treatment" is well deserved. However, some people think that the reason why this treatment is called honey treatment is also because coffee beans with pectin look as if they were stained with honey.

Honey treatment is very troublesome and requires farmers to remove the peel of coffee while retaining pectin as much as possible. Then, the coffee beans with pectin layer will be put directly on the outdoor viaduct for a long time exposure and air-drying. In the process of exposure for up to 1-2 weeks, the beans with shells should be turned every few hours to ensure that the coffee beans are dried evenly. After dehydration, put the coffee beans into a wooden container to ripen. By contrast, half-sun is much easier. In the drying process, the half-sun method will rely on machine drying, only exposed to the sun bed for two to three days, while scraping off more pectin.

Knowledge: according to the retention of pectin, honey treatment is also divided into yellow honey, black honey and so on.

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