Processing

Coffee cherries must be processed before they can be transformed into the coffee that we know and love to drink. The purpose of the processing is to remove the natural outer cover that nature provides to protect the coffee bean. This cover is made of four layers, the cherry skin or pulp, mucilage, parchment skin, and finally the silver skin. The outer cover is removed by one or two processes: 1) wet process or 2) dry process.

Wet Process

1.	The ripe cherries are handpicked.
2.	During the initial washing, defects float to the top and are removed.
3.	The first wash squeezes the bean out of the cherry pulp, and there are generally two beans in each cherry.
4.	Fermentation is next. This is when the mucilage is removed. The sugars begin to ferment and create an enzyme that eats the mucilage. This process takes about 24 hours.
5.	The beans are rinsed to stop fermentation, and to wash off the remaining mucilage.
6.	The beans are spread out on a patio to sun dry. The drying process takes from three to four weeks. The beans are constantly turned during the day. At night, the beans are stored in shelters. They must be protected from moisture both day and night.
7.	The coffee beans are shelled out of the parchment skin.
8.	The beans are put on a conveyor belt and sorted into different sizes. Eventually all that remain are broken beans and debris.
9.	The beans are then sorted into density by vibrating on a gravity table. The largest beans have the highest density.
10.	The final process is a visual inspection. The beans travel on a conveyor belt passing in front of people who pick out the defects.
11.	The Wet Process is now completed, and all that remains on the green bean is the silver skin.
* Wet processing produces a clean crisp flavor. It can be described as bright, or light. The coffee does not linger on the tongue.

Dry Process

1.	The beans are allowed to ripen on the trees before they are picked.
2.	They are spread out on patios to complete the drying process.
3.	Once the drying process has been completed, the beans are processed just the same as the beans that went through the Wet Process.
*Coffees from Yemen are the oldest strain of coffee, and this coffee is ONLY dry processed. Depending on the water available, coffees such as Sulawest, Sumatra, Ethiopian or Kenya can be processed either way. *Dry Processed coffees can be associated with the term full body. The coffee lingers on the tongue. It can be described as fruity, spicy, or even syrupy.