After being harvested, the pulp of the coffee fruit is removed so that it can reach the green beans.
Coffee cherries, after harvesting, can be stored for an extremely short time, they must be processed very quickly after harvesting, otherwise the taste will be damaged.
The methods of processing coffee are:
Natural / dry
This process has the following steps: the driest grains are separated with the help, after which the rest of the cherries are dried, unpeeled, on drying beds.
The natural process is complete in 3 to 5 weeks.
The natural process gives the coffee less acidity, more sweetness and more body.
Natural pulped
The term "natural pulped" can be translated as natural peeling, ie the process is simple, peel (peel) the coffee beans and leave them to dry with the mucilage on them.
The more the beans are left in the mucilage, the drier the coffee, the sweeter it will taste and the stronger the body.
Semi-washed / semi-dry
First the dried cherries will be separated with water, then the cherries are peeled, after which they will lose 1/4 of their weight.
Then the grains will be cleaned with a centrifuge, which fails to separate the unpeeled grains.
If they remain, they will have a negative impact on the taste of coffee.
After which the grains are dried in mucilage, after which they are manually selected.
This process can take up to 8 days and saves water.
The taste of coffee will be similar to that of naturally processed coffee, it will have a strong body, aroma and sweetness and a fine acidity, as well as coffees processed by the wet method.
Washed coffee (fully washed)
This method requires between 130 and 150 liters of water per kilogram of coffee.
The first time the cherries are washed and pre-dried in water tanks or water pipes.
Mucilage is removed mechanically, using chemicals or through the fermentation process, wet.
This fermentation process takes between 12 and 36 hours.
The process ends when the grains are no longer muciluginous.
Washing coffees are very acidic, they have less jam and body.