Ten Steps To Coffee - National Coffee Association (#)

  „Pickers rotate among the trees every 8 - 10 days, choosing only the cherries which are at the peak of ripeness. Because this kind of harvest is labor intensive, and thus more costly, it is used primarily to harvest the finer arabica beans. “

http://www.ncausa.org/public/pages/ index.cfm?pageid=69 - Cached

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Coffee History - Learn about coffee...

  „From these receiving stations, the coffee cherries are transported directly to the mill. This means coffee pickers are usually working at the trees during the day and delivering to the mill or receiving stations in the evening. The coffee cherries are tipped into large tanks of water where the first separation of quality occurs: FLOATERS The cherries which float are empty or immature and do not yield high quality coffee. SINKERS The cherries which sink are excellent and ripe, perfect for processing into high quality coffee Our mill works on a binary system which processes the sinkers along a totally different path than the floaters.“

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

Specialty Coffee Bulletin Board :: View topic - C-Member Homecoming and Open House

  „Chuck takes "civilians" there on coffee plantation tours and has them pick their own coffee cherries before their first breakfast. He says picking the ripe cherries from the unripe ones on the same branch is a skilled task, and no one ever looks at a cup of coffee the same way after doing this. One of his best quotes came when someone asked what ha“

http://www.scaa.org/.../ viewtopic.php?p=280&sid=1711e5ad3a2523b9f03e3129a54899b3 - Cached

Processing Coffee

  „Irrespective of the harvesting method, green coffee beans and overripe coffee cherries inevitably end up mixed with the perfectly ripe cherries and must be separated.  Overripe coffee cherries, undeveloped coffee cherries, sticks and leaves float in water.  Ripe coffee beans and green coffee cherries are dense and sink.  Therefore, the first separation step takes place by separating the floaters from the sinkers.  The floaters are usually sent directly to the patio to be dried and are then slated for internal consumption.  The ripe and green cherries can be sent to the patios to be dried using the natural (dry) process or can be sent to the pulping machines.“

http://www.coffeeresearch.org/agriculture/ processing.htm - Cached

Coffee Growing at Home

  „Ripe cherries should be harvested and picked from trees with a high production and without any disease or other affliction.  Pulp the cherry by hand, wash with water, and ferment in a small container until the pulp falls off.  This can be determined simply by rubbing the bean in you hands during the fermentation process.  Wash again with fresh water.  Any coffee beans that float at any stage of washing should be discarded.  The beans must then be dried to about 20% moisture content on mesh screen in open and dry air, but not in direct sunlight.  After pulping a coffee will have between 60-70% moisture content so you can determine the appropriate stopping point simply by weighing the beans.  Otherwise, you can bite the bean open to ensure that it is dry on the outside and slightly soft and moist on the inside.  Alternatively, a pulped bean can be used immediately for planting and in some areas this is considered advantageous.“

http://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/ homegrowing.htm - Cached

Arabica vs Robusta: No Contest (INeedCoffee.com)

  „These trees grow in semitropical climates near the equator, both in the western and eastern hemispheres, at high altitudes. Because ripe Arabica cherries (unroasted beans) fall to the ground and spoil, they must be carefully monitored and picked at intervals, which increases production costs.“

http://www.ineedcoffee.com/02/06/arabica/ - Cached

Archived in Arabica Beans, Arabica