These coffee beans getting dried in preparation for roasting at Kaffee 3 Granos! We spent a few hours manually sorting coffee beans and unloading selected ones in the threshing machine for milling.
Moreover these beans come from small farms around Quillabamba. See video below. Tomorrow we are roasting a ‘blend’ of all these coffee beans. Indeed 100% Arabica beans. Mainly Typica, Caturra and Catimor.
Drying is a crucial step in the process of producing high-quality specialty coffee beans. After harvesting the coffee cherries and removing the pulp, they must dry the beans to reduce their moisture content. This helps to ensure that the beans are stable and free from mold and other contaminants.
When I visited a specialty coffee farm, the process of drying the beans fascinated me. They spread the beans out on raised beds, allowing air to circulate around them and promoting even drying. A canopy covered the beds to protect the beans from the sun and rain.
Coffee beans drying process
The process of drying the beans takes several days. During this time, they carefully monitor the beans to ensure even drying. The coffee farmers would constantly check the moisture content of the beans and would turn them regularly to ensure that they were drying evenly.
In addition one of the things I found most interesting about the process of drying specialty coffee beans was how it affected the flavor of the coffee. The drying time and conditions of the beans significantly impact the flavor and aroma of the final product. For example, drying coffee slowly in the shade tends to create a sweeter, more nuanced flavor compared to drying it quickly in the sun.
Overall, the process of drying specialty coffee beans is a fascinating and crucial step in the production of high-quality coffee. It requires a lot of care and attention to ensure that the beans are drying evenly and that the final product has the desired flavor and aroma.
I have more Peruvian coffee farm videos for you to view. I will keep updating them as I visit more farms in Latin America.