What you should know about the coffee processing process
As is well known, coffee must go through a series of steps before it is exported and reaches our cups. In previous articles, we have pointed out that coffee “cooked” three times: The field, roasting and preparation. But in this first productive stage, we stumble upon the benefiting process. A factor that plays a very important role in the quality of the product.
Once the coffee berries are harvested, either manually or mechanically. A careful selection must be made, excluding those unsuitable fruits. In fact, in some cases, what is known as scraping is applied, which consists of taking all the berries, regardless of their state of ripeness, and subsequently subjecting them to inspection.
Once this is finished, it is the turn of the benefiting process of coffee, which is classified as follows:
-Wet (gentle washes)
-Semi-humid (natural pulped)
-Dry or natural
Each one has different influences on coffee. That is why the team of specialists Incapto Coffee, will help you understand through this article, how they work and the differences.
What is the benefited process?
If you are dedicated to the coffee industry, you will know that the stage of the processing process is one of the most important phases within the industrialization of coffee, because the berries extracted from the coffee plant are finally transformed into coffee beans.
To do this, coffee growers are responsible for separating the mucilage that protects the fruit, through the wet or dry method. Once this stage is completed, the result is a completely clean grain, which will later be roasted.
It should be noted that, if good processing is done, the quality of the coffee is maintained or enhanced, but otherwise, the product would be harmed.
Types of beneficiaries
Now it's time to get into it. Thus, as we pointed out a few paragraphs above, the benefiting process Coffee has several classifications.
Below we will indicate the type of procedures to which the coffee is subjected and what we can expect from its flavor.
Wet processing
In this process the coffee berry is pulped. Subsequently, it is fermented or demucilagin. Finally, it is washed and dried. This is normally known as washing. Like the other beneficiary processes, They can be exceptional depending on certain factors. In short, it does not necessarily have the best qualities, it is something that will be based a little on taste. In this case, we will come across a soft cup.
Thanks to wet processing, we will achieve finer flavors. The parchment grains, which is a protective yellow shell or cuticle. After the beans dry with the coating, it is stored until ready to export.
Those in charge of carrying out such a process must comply with the following, step by step:
-First what they must do is pulp. This means that you have to remove the hard skin that covers the fruit.
-The second step to complete is to ferment the grains for at least 24 hours. This makes washing easier, thus eliminating the mucilage or the soft part of the cherry.
-Now, they proceed to wash them in buckets, where they will have to get rid of the remains of the outer layers, which if not, could influence the flavor of the drink. It should be noted that, throughout this wash, any remaining mucilage is removed.
-When the grain is completely rinsed, it is dried on the structures with mesh cloth so that air can pass through. To achieve uniform drying, you should wait about 30 hours of sun, in which the coffee growers will later stir the beans until they achieve the ideal point.
At this stage of the procedure, the parchment coffees are treated. These grains will go to the thresher, where the parchment layer will be removed. Once this is finished, we will have a green bean, the one that will be sent to the roasting machines.
Once the process is finished, the green beans will begin to be selected and classified. Here the size and density will be taken into account. But how is grain measurement done? To do this, it is passed through a sieve.
The grains may be the same size, but it does not mean that they will be the same in weight. That is why they must be subjected to another procedure, which consists of being detected through the air or gravity method. Finally, the coffee is placed in 69 kg bags, but this will depend on the country. For example, in Colombia it is 70 kg. Microlots can be in 30 kg bags. In addition to size and weight, any defective beans must also be sorted and removed. In order to proceed to export and be roasted.
Beneficial semi-humid route
Here the coffee growers proceed to pulp and dry the coffee. This is normally known as semi-washed or pulped natural. In Central America, they call it Honey. The latter always creates a slight confusion, since some think it contains honey. But the truth is that its name is due to the sticky appearance that the grain has before drying.
The first thing they do is pulp the coffee cherries, the same procedure that is done with the wet processing. But instead of removing mucilage through the fermentation or mechanically (demucilaginated). It is left attached to the grain and later, the coffee is dried on patios, in raised beds or mechanical dryers. A method that ends when the coffee reaches 12% humidity.
When the coffee has finally dried properly. It is threshed, roasted, classified and finally prepared for export. This processing process is very popular in Costa Rica, where they adopted it after noticing improvements in the quality of their coffees.
Beneficial dry process
As the name suggests, the coffee is dried on its own cherry. A procedure that is also called natural. This method tends to be shorter than the wet method. Where the first thing that is done is to collect, classify and clean the cherries of all impurities. They are then subjected to the following stages:
-Drying: This is one of the key phases during this procedure. The first thing to do is spread the cherries on mats raised on trestles or in special patios. With cement or brick floors. The work of the coffee growers is another essential point in this stage. Since, they are the ones who will be in charge of turning the grains constantly. With the aim of making the drying homogeneous.
For those who don't know, this process can take approximately a month. Since coffee berries must have a humidity of 12.5%. The drying stage is vital to produce an excellent product. If excesses are detected, the grain runs the risk of being brittle. But if it is not dried correctly, the coffee could present fungi and bacteria.
-Derailed: This would be the last phase. When the coffee berries are finally completely dry, they are stored in silos. To then be transferred to the mill.
There they are strained, to separate according to size and qualities. They are then classified and placed in bags to be sent to the huller.
Source
CENICAFE Guide for coffee beneficiaries - RevistaElCafetalero.com
