Getting the coffee from the field to the cup takes time and there’s several steps in between that need to be taken before the coffee beans or grounds end up in a home, at the company coffeemaker or in the coffee shop.
After the beans are harvested, the cherries that were picked need to be processed and sometimes end up at a processing plant.
One of the first steps involves separating the overripe coffee cherries, sticks and other items that are not useful in the process from the ripe cherries, according to CoffeeResearch.org. “Ripe coffee beans and green coffee cherries are dense and sink …,” the Web site states. “The ripe and green cherries can be sent to the patios to be dried using the natural process of preparing coffee or can be sent to the coffee pulping machines.”
A pulping machine allows the beans from the ripened cherries to filter through a screen. The next step involves possibly fermenting the beans in tanks for up to a day and a half before being sent to the drying process so that the beans contain a low percentage of moisture, according to the Web site.
Following drying, a portion of the beans can be roasted and a coffee expert can cup the coffee so that they can get a quality rating.
According to the National Coffee Association, there are two methods for processing the cherries. The method mentioned above using a pulping machine is the wet method, but there’s also a method that was used long before processing plants and pulping machines.
A dry method, which is “the age-old method of processing coffee and is still used in many countries where water resources are limited,” is a method that involves allowing the sun to dry the cherries while someone rakes the cherries and makes sure they are turned during the daytime, according to the Association. At night or during wet conditions, the cherries are covered up.
This process can take weeks to complete, but can also create great-tasting coffee.