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Harvesting Coffee

Harvesting Coffee: Plantation Story | Harvesting | Processing | Cure | Export
 

Processing

In the first procedure, coffee is usually processed by the "wet" method. This entails the beans being softened in water, then de-pulped mechanically fermented in large tanks, washed again, and then dried in the open or in a large, heated, rotating cylinders. The wet method of harvesting is generally considered the best as only the ripe fruit is picked. Lest we lead you to believe that all plantations harvesting with the dry method have inferior products, however, it is important to note that sometimes beans are carefully hand picked and allowed to be harvested by the dry method simply from a lack of an abundant water source.

After harvesting, the coffee berries are graded and the ripe red berries are separated from the unripe green ones. Dirt and foreign particles like twigs, stones, and leaves are also removed. The ripe berries are then sent for pulping. A machine called the aqua pulper/washer is used to remove the mucus. It is then spread on a tiled drying yard where it is dried to the specific ratio recommended by the coffee board. After this, it is cleaned again and the dry husks are removed. It is then sent to a coffee curing plant.

Coorg 1The manager is the person responsible for the estate and any major decision has to through him; but 'writers' to whom the manager delegates authority oversee the day-to-day tasks. Accounting is done on a weekly basis - At the end of the week, all the bills are cleared and the workers are paid their weekly wages. A coffee estate produces a lot waste. Almost all of it is put to some use or the other. The wood resulting from shade lopping is sold as firewood after taking permission from the forest department. The coffee husks that are left over after pulping is used to prepare organic manure and can be applied to the plantation itself. It is also used as alternative fuel in Industrial boilers.

Curing

Coorg 1The Coffee Curing Plant is the final stage in the processing of coffee. The output of these plants is coffee (green beans), as we know it, in its various forms - Instant coffee, pea berry powder etc.

Trucks containing coffee from the estates arrive at the plant. The truck, along with the loaded coffee is weighbridge, after which the coffee is unloaded and stored in the raw coffee godown. Then, the trucks are weighed again and the difference gives the weight of the coffee unloaded.

It is then taken to the milling section. There, machines called stick & stone separators process the coffee to remove the impurities like sticks and stones. Then comes the machine called a Huller. It is used to remove the outer skin of the coffee berries (coffee parchment). Next in line is the pulper/polisher, for cherries, which removes the silver lining or the dried coffee berry skin.

The berries are then sent to the Winnower, which removes the loose husk and other debris, which are blown off. They do not go to waste though. They are in high demand as industrial fuels because of their good heat retention capability and cost effectiveness. This can be called a byproduct of the processing stage. The Graders then grade them into P-berries, AB1, and bits, cuts & blacks using sieves to separate the different varieties. Machines known as Catadors remove the remaining husks.

Then comes the Electronic Color Sorters, which work on the principle of the difference in wavelength of light for different colors. Poor varieties like the bits, blacks and cuts are not sent to the color sorter, but used in making instant coffee. They are then weighed, bagged and exported. As for the others, after color sorting is done, they are sent for Garbling - which is done manually by hand. This is the final sorting.

The finished products are stored in the clean coffee godown, from where they are sent to the markets for sale, after being weighed. They may be sold in the domestic market or sent for export, depending on the type and grade of coffee

Export

The final product of both methods is the green bean, ready for export. Coffee is then roasted within the country that imports it.


open quoteAs with art 'tis prepared, so one should drink it with art. - Arabic Proverb close quote
open quoteWhether you call Indian coffee as South Indian coffee, Madras coffee, Mysore coffee, Malabar coffee or Coorg coffee, Café Coorg strives to bring you the very best from the heart of the Indian coffee growing region.