Green Bean Processing

Upon ripening, the coffee cherries are usually hand picked in what is a very labor intensive process. Each cherry contains two coffee beans as well as several layers of protective skin. Prior to processing, the coffee beans must be separated from the rest of the cherry. One of two methods can be used to accomplish this.

I. Wet Method

Water is used to separate the beans from their protective skin. After soaking approximately 24 hours (a process known as fermentation) a hulling machine is used to separate the unusable portion of the cherry from the beans. The beans are then washed and allowed to dry in the sun for several days or processed through mechanical dryers prior to sorting grading and bagging. The coffees produced using the wet method are often of higher quality and cleaner tasting than those produced using the dry method described below.

II. Dry Method (Natural Method)

Beans processed using the dry methods are spread out on large cement patios and allowed to dry in the sun immediately after harvesting. After two or three weeks the beans are hulled to remove the withered cherry. Further processing in the dry mill will then sort, grade and bag the coffees for export.