Coffee Bean Processing Techniques Cannot Be Neglected - Introduction to Semi-Washed Processing Steps

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Semi-Washed Processing Method

Semi-Washed (Descascado) Processing Method

The harvested berries are processed and classified: ripe red and green berries on one side, while "boia" berries are separated to another side for the first mechanical screening in water.

When coffee berries are still wet, the berry skin and first layer of pulp are mechanically separated. The advantage of this processing method is to avoid large water consumption and natural fermentation problems, as the processing time is shortened.

High-pressure washing machines are used to completely remove the pulp and mucilage from coffee berries. If the raw beans are spread in a very thin layer on the drying field, the risk of fermentation can be further reduced.

After five or six days of natural drying, dryers fueled by firewood or gas are finally used for drying.

The first half uses the wet method to remove pulp, while the second half uses the dry method. This refined method combines the two aforementioned approaches and is also called "Semi-Washed Method (Pulped Natural)." The fully washed method involves pulp removal and water tank fermentation followed by washing, totaling two washing operations, but this processing method only performs one, hence it's called "semi" washed method. Although it uses only half the water, it is still classified as a wet processing method in international terminology because it still uses water for refinement.

The semi-washed processing method is a relatively new refining method formed after continuous improvements to pulp removers in the 20th century. By using high-performance pulp removers or equipment called "Mucilage Removers," not only can the pulp be removed, but also some mucilage can be scraped off simultaneously, allowing the fruit to be dried and shelled while still covered with the parchment layer to obtain raw beans.

Although this method became popular in Brazil since the 1980s, in recent years, Central American estates in Costa Rica and Panama have improved this method into a processing method called "Honey Process," controlling flavor by adjusting the degree of mucilage scraping, and it has been applied to high-end coffee products such as specialty coffee. The "Sumatran-style" refining method adopted in Sumatra and Sulawesi, Indonesia, is also classified as a semi-washed processing method.

Knowledge Point

The quality of coffee can vary based on factors such as altitude, latitude, and soil chemical composition. Coffee cultivation outside the correct range of factors will greatly alter the final quality of the coffee.

In Summary

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