International Coffee Organization (#)

  „Because the pulping is done by mechanical means it normally leaves some residual flesh as well as the sticky mucilage adhering to the parchment surrounding the beans. This has to be completely removed to avoid contamination of the coffee beans by products resulting from the degradation of the mucilage. The newly pulped beans are placed in large fermentation tanks in which the mucilage is broken down by natural enzymes until it is dispersible, when it can be washed away. Unless the fermentation is carefully monitored, the coffee can acquire undesirable, sour flavours.“

http://www.ico.org/acoff/field.htm - Cached

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Coffee History - Learn about coffee...

  „This involves rubbing off the parchment layer and polishing the bean for an attractive appearance. At this point the coffee beans are a light green to bluish color. The coffee is then graded. This means the coffee is basically sorted by size, shape and imperfections.“

http://www.javacafe.com/cofhistory02.htm - Cached

- Coffee Science Information Centre

  „After harvesting the next stage is to remove the outer layers of the bean and create a stable, dry, green coffee bean. Two methods may be used, 'dry' or 'wet', to get the beans to the 'parchment' stage: within their hulls with most of their moisture removed. They can be stored in this state prior to processing to remove the hull, after which they are sorted and graded and ready for export around the world.“

http://www.cosic.org/background-on-coffee/ coffee-production - Cached

How Coffee is Grown

  „Once the beans reach this stage they are called parchment or pergamino beans and are stored in this form until traded. Storing raw coffee with its parchment skin retains its moisture and freshness and keeps the beans in optimal condition. Before exporting, they are milled to remove the parchment, leaving a greenish colored bean, known, not surprisingly, as green beans. It is in this form that coffee is traded.“

http://www.equalexchange.com/intro/ eeintro3.html - Cached

Indian coffee board- monthly magazine- Cover Story- Rainfall Pattern and Drought Situation in Coffee Plantations and its Impact

  „During the first round of crop harvest, the percent wet parchment was less, which improved later on during subsequent harvests. The percentage of "A" grade beans in arabica coffee was around 22 to 33% during the first round of crop harvest, which improved to 40 to 65% during subsequent round of picking. The plantations, which received adequate rainfall and also plantations of high altitude have shown normal percentage of 52.40 to 82.18% "A" grade beans. The plantations affected with drought had low percentage of "A" grade beans to an extent of 37.18 to 56.13%.“

http://www.indiacoffee.org/newsletter/2004/march/ cover_story.html - Cached

It's All About Coffee

  „If you want to get the most flavorful cup of coffee (decaf or regular) the magazine's Erin Gudeux recommends buying whole beans and grinding them yourself. "Overall we found that the whole bean coffee does tend to have a better flavor," she says.“

http://www.aboutcoffee.net/ - Cached

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