The quality of coffee starts right from the beginning
Good coffee vastly depends on how well it is harvested from the start, so it’s no understatement to say that this is one of the most important parts of its production. There are two ways in which the cherries can be selected and the most common one is simply manually picking. This is where the farmer will take their time in checking each cherry for maximum ripeness, to which they will then take each one manually. While this is the slower option of the two, it does guarantee of a high quality cherry to which will then produce equally fantastic coffee.
The second of the two methods is known as stripping which is when the plants are stripped with all the fruit still present. This clearly ensures of a faster selection yet there is no promise that each and every cherry will be of the desired quality in which to harvest. Because of this, each one must go under thorough examination at a later stage to eliminate aspects such as impurities.
Once the selection of the fruit has been complete, the next step is to extract the bean from within and is usually carried out through either dry or wet roasting methods. If the fruit has been manually picked rather than stripped, it is advised that wet processing is the best option as it keeps the standard quality of the original fruit with good appearance and no defects. It works by removing the skin and then placing them in water to ferment so as to eliminate the mucilage (pulp). The beans are then washed and left to dry either in the sun or in a dryer.
The dry processing method doesn’t focus so much on the appearance of the bean and instead opts to maintain its natural state. Rather than soaked in order to remove the skin, the fruit will be left in the sun for up to three weeks and then the machine will remove the skin, pulp and protective membranes.
Each form of harvest and extracting provides the bean with a unique taste that will come to life in your beverage. Each person will have their own preference as to what they prefer, though just remember that on a farm, in a country over the other side of the world, your coffee is already receiving the quality that the world knows and loves. The beginning is where it all starts…
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