Coffee Production
1
Harvest
The harvest can be manual – a difficult and intensive process used in most countries – or mechanical - used in countries with more resources.
PickingMethod of manual and selective harvest of the ripe cherry, which guarantees excellent quality for the end product.
StripingMethod of harvesting regardless of ripeness. This method can be manual or mechanical and is based on shaking the branches of the coffee plant.
2
Post-Harvest
Coffee can be processed in two different ways:
Dry process
the cherry are spread outdoors to dry in the sun or in a mechanical dryer until they have a moisture of around 11%. The beans are later transported to their place of storage. This method is more widely used in robusta producing countries.
Wet process
used mainly in arabica producing countries, the cherry are husked and the pulp is removed mechanically and then they are fermented in tanks. At the final stage, the beans are thoroughly washed.
used mainly in arabica producing countries, the cherry are husked and the pulp is removed mechanically and then they are fermented in tanks. At the final stage, the beans are thoroughly washed.
3
Transport
Coffee is shipped in containers by sea and stored in jute or sisal sacks packed on pallets in a protected atmosphere with a system of pest control. This type of storage allows ensures the ideal conservation of the product, maintaining appropriate atmospheric conditions with uniform ventilation, temperature and humidity.
4
Cleaning, Grading and Storage
While still green, beans of every type are cleaned and checked. Each type is stored in a different silo.
5
Blend
Blends, commonly known as lots, are the result of combining green coffee of different origins, in a predefined percentage. The aim is to combine origins with different characteristics, seeking to include in a single lot all the individual qualities of coffees from different parts of the world.
6
Roasting
The beans are roasted in a constantly revolving drum up to temperatures of around 200 °C, reducing their internal moisture content to below 3%.
1
Drying of the beans characterised by a significant loss of water content.
2
Pyrolysis characterised by complex chemical reactions.
3
Transformation of precursors into the final components of roasted coffee.
4
Cooling until the beans reach ambient temperature.
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The roasted coffee is stored in pre-packaging silos.
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The intensity of the roasting is associated with profile of the beverage.
7
Packaging
Coffee can be packaged as whole beans, ground for filter machines, ground for espresso coffee or, more recently, packed in practical pods or capsules.
8
Quality Assurance
Quality control starts in the collection of samples of green coffee for analysis. Next, analyses are carried out to determine the water content, defective count, sensory analysis and detection of any contaminants, among other aspects. During roasting, samples are collected to check the degree of roasting moisture. During packaging, samples of all the lots are collected for metrological control and checking of the packaging process, physical-chemical tests and sensory analysis.
9
Distribution
