Detailed Selling Lead Description

The Wet Process - Illustrated Step 1: Arabica coffee is harvested by selectively picking ripe cherries from coffee plants and trucking them to the processing center. Step 2: The coffee cherries are washed with water.

Step 3: Next, the cherries are sent through a pulping machine, which removes most of the pulp from the coffee seed (bean). The pulp is separated out to be shipped away as fertilizer. Step 4: The seeds go into large tanks where they ferment for one to three days to separate the last sticky layer of pulp from the seeds.

Step 5: Then the coffee seeds are washed with water again to remove the remaining pulp. Step 6: The clean coffee seeds are sorted, usually by hand. Any immature or rotten beans or remaining cherries are removed at this stage.

Step 7: The sorted coffee seeds are dried in special drying machines. Step 8: Once dry, the coffee seeds are run through a machine which removes the "hulls" or "parchments" and polishes the coffee beans.

Step 9: The next step involves grading the coffee beans according to size to ensure even roasting. Step 10: These green (unroasted) grade A Arabica coffee beans are bagged and ready to be exported and sold to coffee companies, who often blend them with cheaper Robusta beans and roast them according to their own standards. Coffee beans are usually roasted in heated, rotating metal cylinders to ensure even roasting and prevent burning. As temperatures increase, steam and other gases are released from the beans, expanding them by 30 to 100 percent and causing a 14 to 23 percent weight loss. The beans brown during roasting; a roasting temperature of 380 degrees F (193 degrees C) results in a light roast, 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) results in a medium roast, and 425 degrees F (218 degrees C) results in a dark roast. Longer roasting will also result in a darker roast.

The unique aroma of coffee is the result of complex chemical changes which occur during roasting. Roasting coffee too dark can help decrease the bitterness of Robusta beans or destroy the flavor of Arabica beans. Decaffeinating