Processing
Once at the processing plant the coffee is then processed by one of two methods – Dry Method or Wet Method.
The Dry Method
In this method the coffee cherries are laid out on patios and left to dry in the sun. The cherries are raked several times a day to avoid them spoiling, at night and if there is any rain they are covered to prevent them getting wet. The process of raking and drying in the sun may take several weeks for every batch of coffee.
When the moisture content drops to 11% the dried coffee cherries are moved to warehouses where they are stored.
The Wet Method
The fresh harvested cherries are passed through a pulping machine, this is where the skin and pulp are separated from the bean. The pulp is washed away with water, the beans are then separated by weight as they are passed along the water channels, the lighter beans rise to the top and float, however the riper beans are heavier and they will sink to the bottom.
A series of rotating drums will next separate the beans by size before they are transported to large water fill fermentation tanks.