Why does coffee and bean washing enhance acidity and taste description?

Why does coffee and bean washing enhance acidity and taste description?

In the process of washing, the peel and pulp of the fruit are treated with a special desizing machine and the coffee beans are peeled off. The coffee beans then enter the fermentation tank for fermentation treatment so that the mucous membrane is no longer sticky. The sugars in the mucous membrane are decomposed during fermentation. Depending on the fermentation method, the fermentation time is usually 12 hours to 6 days (some growers use the watering system to ferment coffee beans. This method is called the Kenyan washing method (Kenyan method) and usually lasts for several days).

It is extremely important to decide when to stop fermentation. Once the coffee is overfermented, the taste of the coffee will become too sour. Once the sticky material in the mucous membrane is decomposed, it will be washed down with a lot of water. (the waste water from the raw bean treatment process is considered to be the source of pollution in the coffee industry. Today, advanced technologies are being developed in many areas to recycle and filter the waste water produced by this process. Water shampoo was born in the 19th century, also known as "wet processing".

A tightly controlled fermentation process increases the acidity of the coffee and is reflected in the final taste of the coffee. But as long as the coffee is washed immediately after the fermentation process, the taste of the coffee can be improved and has a bright sour taste.

1. Selection: use the same method as washing to separate ripe beans from immature beans.

2 drying: tile in the drying field for sun drying. It usually takes 1-2 weeks, and because it takes a long time, special attention must be paid to climate change. In addition, coffee beans must be raked regularly every day to prevent fermentation, and coffee beans can be dried evenly. The water content of dried secondary beans decreased to about 12%.

3. Shelling: the dried coffee beans are sent to the sheller to remove the shell.

With the exception of parts of Brazil and Ethiopia, the vast majority of Arabica species are treated by washing, while only some parts of Indonesia use water washing, and almost all others are treated by drying.

This method is only suitable for specific areas of some countries, with a long drying period. The coffee produced by this method is sticky, and the mucus is not removed as it is fermented in the tank. Therefore, the coffee produced by this semi-washing method contains the characteristics of both washing and drying. The acidity, sweetness, seasoning, and flavor of this coffee are all quite good; the disadvantage is that the taste of such coffee is not as strong as that produced by pure drying or washing.