Coffee picking and handling-Kenya Coffee picking season

Coffee picking and handling-Kenya Coffee picking season

The key to ensuring the quality of coffee is to stop fermentation at the right time, because excessive fermentation can lead to the emergence of so-called smelly coffee beans. If the fermentation is insufficient or too slow, butyric acid or propionic acid will be produced, both of which will adversely affect the quality of coffee. The fermented coffee with skin needs to be cleaned immediately after the completion of the fermentation process to terminate the process. However, after removing the mucus and before cleaning, it may be necessary to soak the coffee with skin in clean water for 12 to 24 hours to reduce the bitter taste of the coffee drink.

one。 Mechanical picking

Mechanical picking is suitable for coffee gardens with flat land and large areas of plantation. afterwards, it is necessary to check the coffee beans picked by the machine and pick out the leaves and branches that have fallen in the funnel. This method is often used in Brazil.

Advantages: low cost and high efficiency

Disadvantages: the coffee beans picked are uneven and of poor quality

two。 Hand picking

Selective picking, that is, walking between trees several times at intervals of 8-10 days and picking only those ripe red berries, higher quality coffee beans are used.

Advantages: the picked coffee fruit is uniform in size, similar in maturity and free of other impurities, which is beneficial to post-processing.

Disadvantages: high cost

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.

Advantages: the fruity aroma of coffee beans can be well preserved and the price is low.

Disadvantages: coffee beans may be contaminated with the fishy smell of the ground, and the quality of coffee beans is uneven.

Fresh fruit-sun-dried-remove all pericarp, seed coat-coffee raw beans

Note: this method is mostly used for lower-grade coffee beans and is still widely used in Brazil, Ethiopia, Congo, Indonesia, Yemen and other places.

The washing method is also called wet treatment: after the outer pulp of the coffee fruit is removed by the pulp separator within 12 hours after the coffee is picked, the coffee beans are soaked in a large cement tank filled with water to separate the fruit. The coffee beans are then pasted in the fermentation box for about 12-36 hours, containing 15% water after fermentation, and the fermented coffee beans are washed clean with clean water. The coffee beans are dried in a dryer or dried in the sun, and the coffee beans are called "parchment coffee beans", waiting for export.