Coffee picking and processing methods Brazilian coffee beans processing methods

The method of picking and handling Coffee the method of handling Brazilian coffee beans

There are two ways to prepare coffee beans for the baking process. The method chosen has a significant impact on the final value and quality of coffee. The cheapest method of processing is called "drying", which is used for lower-grade coffee beans, while higher-quality coffee beans are processed by "wet treatment". Drying is used for unwashed coffee beans. Wet treatment is used for thoroughly washed or semi-washed coffee beans. Except for the more common use of drying in Brazil and Ethiopia, most Arabica coffee beans are processed by wet treatment. Some robastian coffee beans are also processed by wet treatment.

Drying is also known as sun-drying or non-washing: the drying method is relatively simple. First of all, spread the freshly picked fruit on the exposure field for a week or two until the fruit crackles and dries naturally. After that, the dried pulp, endocarp and silver peel are removed by a sheller.

Shake-down method

This method is to hit the ripe fruit or shake the coffee branch with a random stick, so that the fruit falls and accumulates into a pile. Larger estates use large harvesters, while small and medium-sized farms harvest with a sea of people mobilized by the whole family. This method of shaking the fruit off the ground is easier to mix with impurities and defective beans than the hand-picking method, and beans from some places can be stained with a strange smell or fermented because the ground is wet. Producers of Robusta coffee beans such as Brazil and Ethiopia are mostly harvested in this way.

Countries harvested by shaking and falling method also adopt natural drying method to refine coffee beans. Coffee blossoms in spring, bears fruit in summer and harvests in winter, so it is very difficult to harvest and dry in places where there is no clear distinction between drought and rainy seasons. in the rainy season, it is impossible to use natural drying. Therefore, coffee is suitable for growing in areas with early and rainy seasons.