What is the secret handling of coffee beans? China Coffee Network, do you know how coffee fruits are handled?

4. Honey treatment method

Today, honey treatment is used in almost all the producing areas of Costa Rica. This method is also widely spread throughout Central America. Because the surface mucosa of coffee beans is extremely slippery and the sugar content is extremely high, it is often called "honey". In the process of honey treatment, coffee will leave some or all of the "honey" when it is dried. After the coffee fruit is picked, graded and peeled, it is placed on a drying bed to dry.

Because the drying time of the mucous membrane is very short, coffee beans hardly ferment during the drying process. The acidity of coffee beans processed by this method is slightly higher than that of natural washing, but much lower than that of natural washing and natural sun processing.

Third, the grade of honey treatment

Since the protagonist of this article is honey treatment, here are several different honey treatments and their effects on the final taste of coffee.

Some plantations that have not used honey treatment in the past have to use the tools at hand to process the coffee. Since raw bean processing plants in most regions, such as Latin America, Kenya and Ethiopia, used to use water to transport raw coffee beans, coffee beans lose some of their mucous membranes during transportation. In places such as Costa Rica, Brazil or Colombia, local processing plants used to use high-pressure washing machines, so part of the mucous membrane was removed during the peeling process. According to the amount of mucosal residue (40% Mel 100%), honey treatment is divided into 4 grades: 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%. Of course, some growers deliberately remove part of the mucous membrane to ensure that the coffee does not become sour due to fermentation during the drying process.

IV. Color grading of honey treatment

Today, some Costa Rican growers grade honey-treated coffee beans according to the color of the coffee. There are three levels: yellow, red and black. The change in color results from the length of light during the drying process of coffee.

The light time of raw coffee beans treated with yellow honey was the longest. Longer light means higher heat, so the coffee can be dried within a week. In general, the drying time of coffee depends on the local climate, temperature and humidity. The drying time of raw coffee beans treated with red honey is 2-3 weeks, usually due to weather or placed in a dark place. If the weather is clear, the grower should block part of the sun to reduce the sunshine time. The coffee beans treated with black honey were left in the dark for the longest time and the shorter the light time. The drying time of this coffee is at least 2 weeks. The black honey treatment of raw coffee beans is the most complex and the labor cost is the highest, so the price is the most expensive.

Country: Ethiopia

Grade: G2

Producing area: Yejia Xuefei

Baking degree: shallow baking

Treatment: washing

Variety: native species

Flavor: Jasmine, lemon, bergamot, honey, black tea

Cochel is located in a small producing area 25 kilometers southeast of Yegashafi, Ethiopia. It is a rich area for coffee production. It is also one of the three famous and micro-producing areas of Yegashafi. It has about 100,000 local residents, and coffee beans are the main source of income. The processing and processing equipment in this area is very advanced. CoffeeReview, a well-known coffee evaluation website, gave Kocher a high rating of 94 points for washed beans.

There are eight main coffee producing areas in Ethiopia: Nekempte (Lekempti) Gimbi Kinby, Limulim, Illubabor Ibedo, Djimma Gemma, Harrar Hara, Teppi/Bebeka Bebeca, Sidamo Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe Yega Chefe. Among them, the more well-known boutique coffee producing areas are Nekempte (Lekempti), Limu, Harrar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe,Yirgacheffe, which are located in the Sidama region of Ethiopia. It can be seen that Yirgacheffe belongs to the smaller region of the Sidama producing area.

Country: Costa Rica

Grade: SHB

Producing area: central valley

Altitude: 1300-1500m

Annual rainfall: 3000 mm

Harvest month: December to February of the following year

Treatment method: red honey treatment

Variety: Kaddura, Kaduai

Producer: fire Phoenix Manor

Raw bean specification: 18 mesh

Flavor: dried fruit, vanilla, honey, thick and delicate taste

Located in the fertile hills of the Poas volcano in the central valley of Costa Rica, Fenghuang Manor is the first producer in Central and South America to produce honey treatment and sun-tanned coffee. It is a completely 100% organically grown coffee manor. The owner believes that organic farming is a better choice for environmental maintenance and family health, even though it faces many technical and organizational challenges. Still adhere to this belief. The high-quality coffee produced by this manor is very unique, and the biggest feature is its amazing sweetness! He became famous when he took part in the boutique coffee contest in 2009. During the harvest season, the sugar content of the fruit is measured by the sugar meter (Brixmeter) often equipped by the wine industry, and the best time and treatment are determined according to the brix sugar content. Only those with more than 20% sweetness will be exposed to the sun. The Brix value of general fruit is 14 for apple, 12 for lemon and 18 for passion fruit, but the coffee cherry of Fenghuang Manor can reach 21-22. The manor attaches great importance to the concept of environmental treatment, such as collecting Rain Water to process coffee, and the production and use of organic compost using earthworm farming (worm composting) makes the planting process completely free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.