How Is Coffee Processed?

This is a fantastic question for any coffee lover, especially since it is quite perplexing how coffee be harvested anywhere in the world to make it safely to your cup of Joe. Coffee is primarily grown along the equator in between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Within the many coffee growing regions, there are specific methods used for processing that will ensure safe handling to create a delicious quality for your morning Java. Ready to begin?

There is much more to coffee processing than simply growing, picking, and preparing the beans for packaging. Coffee processing encompasses a science, and it starts with the two different varieties of coffee beans. These two different coffee bean species are Robusta and Arabica, with Robusta being often seen as the lesser quality of the two. Robusta coffee beans are actually higher in caffeine content, but their flavor profile is less preferred compared to Arabica coffee beans.

Coffee trees themselves are cultivated in plantations and small farms, where they have to withstand a number of conditions to survive. Coffee trees are subject to insect damage, mold, and drought, and they can also suffer with too much sun or rain. To ensure a healthy crop, it is important that the coffee trees have distance so that they can thrive through cross-pollination, the fertility of the soil, and the amount of water that they are given. It is also important for the coffee trees to be grown organically without the use of fertilizers and chemicals for a safer and more flavorful coffee crop. As a side note, for coffee beans to be labeled as 100% organic, they must have been grown free from pesticides for three years.

When the coffee cherries are ready to be harvested, they can be harvested by machine or handpicked. There are a few plantations that use a machine harvest, but many more prefer handpicking because it is more accurate. The coffee beans will need to be sorted by size, color, ripeness, and weight. When the coffee cherries are picked from the trees, they will normally be red, brown, or yellow, and the coffee beans will be removed from the cherry by hand. Otherwise, a spinning drum uses centrifugal force to remove the beans from the coffee cherry. There are normally two coffee beans within each cherry, but if one bean is found within the cherry, it is called a peaberry. Peaberry coffee is seen as a premium variety that is highly coveted for its flavor and taste.

Once the coffee beans have been picked, there are two methods of processing that can be used: wet or dry processing. Dry processing involves the coffee beans being cleaned and dried completely, normally using the sun or forced air. This is a lesser quality method that can damage the coffee beans. Within the wet processing method, fermentation will occur on the mucilage layer of the bean, which naturally eats away the outer layer so that it can be washed away with water. This is a preferred method because it leaves the coffee beans intact with a better flavor and taste.