Introduction to the steps of coffee bean treatment process differences in the flavor of coffee treated with tanning water and honey washing

From the point of view of today's boutique coffee, we can distinguish between washed and sun-treated coffee beans by their flavor. Under normal circumstances, washed coffee will feel cleaner and more sour. On the other hand, the fermentation sweetness of the sun-treated coffee is more obvious, and the level of taste will be richer.

In this regard, today we can choose our own coffee beans according to our favorite taste. Why do different treatments lead to different flavors of coffee? It turns out that this has something to do with the fermentation substances involved in coffee. In the previous treatment of Qianjie, it is also shared in popular science articles that the structure of a coffee fruit can be divided into peel, pulp, pectin, sheepskin, silver skin, and seeds (coffee beans).

The sun treatment is to dry the fresh coffee fruit directly. During this drying process that lasts for 3-4 weeks, the whole coffee fruit is involved in fermentation, so the coffee beans absorb the sugar from the pectin layer and pulp, making the flavor of the coffee sweeter. Water washing is to peel the fresh coffee fruit, then stir and soak in the fermentation tank for 36 hours, separate the pectin layer, then rinse the coffee beans with clean water and dry them until dry. For most of the drying time, only the coffee beans themselves are involved in fermentation. With less fermentation material, it appears to be cleaner and shows a more sour taste (light baking).

In appearance, we can also clearly distinguish between water-washed beans and sun-dried beans, raw beans, water-washed beans will be light green, sun beans will show light yellow. On cooked beans, washed beans show a "white middle line", while sun-dried beans do not.

But in fact, at the beginning of their birth, these treatments were not aimed at flavor at all. The oldest way to handle coffee is the traditional sun treatment, which simply means exposing fresh coffee beans in the yard or on the roof. This method doesn't cost much, and everyone can do it. But the problem is also exposed, that is, "watching the sky to eat", mildew is easy to appear in some areas with unstable weather, and the pulp with high sugar content is extremely easy to attract insects, so that the quality of sun-cured coffee can not be guaranteed. Before the reform of the Ethiopian coffee system, the highest level of sun-treated coffee beans could only be G3.

Washing treatment is the product of industrial standard production. The quality of sun treatment is low and uneven. Only by standardizing production can greater benefits be obtained. In 1740, the Dutch, who controlled colonial coffee cultivation and the world coffee trade, began to use washing to treat coffee beans. It was first found in the West Indies that peeling coffee beans and soaking them in water can remove the sticky pectin layer, which can reduce the drying time of coffee beans and effectively prevent diseases and insect molds from infecting coffee beans, so at that time, washed beans are a symbol of high quality. Later, the invention of the coffee peeling machine in 1844 also made the washing operation more efficient. The cost of washing treatment is also very high, requiring a large amount of water, with an average of 200 kilograms of coffee and raw beans consuming 10-20 tons of water. Therefore, treatment plants can only be built close to the source of water. It can be said that the emergence of washing treatment, flavor and taste only accounts for a small part of the reason, the bigger reason comes from the consideration of good product rate, output and product standardization.

However, washing treatment is not omnipotent. In some countries with underdeveloped water resources, such as the alpine areas of Costa Rica and the plateau areas of Brazil, honey treatment and half-sun treatment according to local conditions will be derived. The wet planing method is derived from the humid areas of Indonesia. These methods are to invent methods with high yield and high rate of good products according to the actual situation. However, it does contain the unique flavor brought by the way of treatment. Since the concept of boutique coffee was put forward in the 1970s, the treatment method has been studied on the flavor. For example, the famous Palm Tree and Big Bird Manor, Paradise Manor and 90 + Manor are committed to studying new processing techniques to explore the different flavors of coffee beans.

Sun treatment is also improving, such as the use of high-bed sun in Africa to avoid insect pests and ground pollution. Use a sunshade cloth to control the degree of sunlight. Strengthen personnel management, roll coffee fruit, pick out abnormal coffee fruit and so on.