Green Coffee Prossessing
May 2, 2026
Coffee Knowledge
During harvest season, ripe coffee cherries are carefully picked by hand and then sorted. In a water container or large bucket filled with water, these cherries are inspected for defective beans, such as those with only half a seed, underdeveloped seeds, or rotten seeds. These float to the surface of the water and are immediately removed. The cherries are turned over by hand several times until no more coffee cherries are floating.
The cherries are then fed into the pulping machine while still wet. Here, the beans are separated from the pulp, and the resulting product is packed into a rice sack (approx. 60 kg). Depending on the bean variety and the altitude of the farm, the beans ferment in the sack for 16–36 hours (16 to 24 hours are required below 1,200 m, and 16 to 36 hours between 1,500 and 1,600 m). This processing step is important so that the fruit pulp can separate from the beans, as this has a significant impact on the sweetness of the flavor after roasting.
After fermentation, the beans are thoroughly washed and dried. To prevent contact with the ground, a plastic tarp and often a mat made of natural material are used. Here, the beans are sorted again, and any defective beans are identified. Depending on the weather, this drying process can take approximately 7 to 9 days (from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., provided there is no rain in between) until the moisture content of the beans reaches about 14%.
In this form, the farmers store their coffee individually in their homes until a potential buyer (such as us) contacts them. Then the hulling machine is used to separate the green beans from the parchment husk. The beans are then sorted by hand again to ensure that only the best beans remain as specialty coffee.
Due to the manual nature of the process (which leaves room for human error), it is possible that farmers may overlook up to 2–3 defective beans per 100 g or 10 per 1 kg in the “Specialty” grade.
Finally, the coffee beans are dried to a moisture content of 11.0 to 12.0%. Since the 2024 harvest, farmers have been using moisture meters for this purpose. Sorting continues here as well. The beans are then packed in special plastic bags (GrainPro) to protect them from moisture and other external influences.
