The treatment process and spread of raw coffee beans

Roasted coffee beans appeared on the market for the first time-1865 (Pittsburgh, USA)

Coffee trees can usually grow up to 5-10 meters tall. The older the coffee tree is, the fewer branches it will have, but the more leaves and fruits it will have. Coffee trees usually begin to bear fruit three to four years after planting. The number of years in which coffee trees produce fruit varies from 10 to 20 years, depending on the region and tree species planted.

Coffee trees are usually planted in rows a few inches apart. Some coffee farmers grow coffee under other high cash crops, or on the other side of the mountain, because coffee requires a specific growing environment. Arabica coffee trees can only grow at 15-24 ℃, while Robusta coffee trees can grow at 30 ℃. The average annual rainfall is 150-300mm. In the fruit growth stage, a large amount of rainfall is conducive to growth, but in the fruit ripening stage, a small amount of rainfall is better. Because the climate of the northern and southern hemispheres is different, the harvest time of coffee beans is also different. In some places, coffee beans are harvested all year round. When the coffee berries are ripe, they are usually harvested by hand. In some places, only the fully ripe berries are picked, while others are all picked from a single branch. The former is called "handpicked" and the latter is called "strip-picking". Because the ripening time of coffee berries is not consistent, so the harvest is likely to be divided into several times, the duration will be very long, so harvesting is also the largest part of manpower investment.

The harvested coffee berries need further treatment, usually in two ways.

One is water washing, which is popular in Central America and parts of Africa; freshly harvested coffee berries separate the peel from the beans manually or mechanically, and then soak in water for 2 to 3 days. In this way, the pulp and sticky matter attached to the coffee beans will be removed. Then comes the cleaning and drying process, which can be done in the natural sun or by machine.

One is: solarization, which is more economical in Brazil and most African countries. After removing twigs and other debris, the coffee berries are spread out in the sun for 2 to 3 weeks, turning repeatedly to make the berries drier until the berries fall off the coffee beans.

When the water content of the coffee beans is reduced to about 13%, the coffee beans will be bagged and cooked in the warehouse for 1 to 3 months.

Finally, it can be sold.