Coffee beans should be harvested when they are fully ripe, usually red or just turning red. To obtain the highest quality coffee, green beans should not be harvested. Ripe beans should not be left to over-ripen or dry on the tree. If there are any of these types of beans mixed in, they should be separated and dried separately. In a harvested batch of coffee, the proportion of fully ripe or just ripe beans should be at least 95%, except for the last harvest when the proportion may be lower. Coffee should be picked by hand, using fingers to pluck the beans, without twisting the branches or pulling the entire cluster for coffee cherries. The branches, leaves, and buds should be protected to avoid damaging future crops. Coffee cherries should not be left in the soil where they may become contaminated with fungi or disease. After harvesting, coffee beans should be processed immediately. If not, they should be spread out on a cool, dry surface, not more than 30-40 cm thick. Coffee should not be heaped up, as this will cause the beans to become hot and ferment. Harvested coffee should not be kept for more than 24 hours. The packaging for fresh coffee beans and transportation vehicles should be clean, without any fertilizer or chemical smells.
Processing and storing green coffee.
There are two methods of processing: dry and wet. Wet processing is used for most coffee cherries and some of the Arabica coffee is processed this way (or semi-washed) when required by customers. Since the harvest season for Arabica coffee in Tây Nguyên is typically dry, the dry processing method is used to utilize solar energy. Wet processing involves selecting only green and dry beans, removing fallen branches and leaves, and washing the ripe coffee cherries with a pulper. The beans are then washed to remove the mucilage on the outer skin, a process called wet processing or “washed coffee.” The beans are then dried to produce “wet parchment coffee.” After being dried to 10-12% moisture content, the beans become “dry parchment coffee.” If fresh coffee beans are the input for the wet processing method, then dry parchment coffee is the output. Dry processing involves drying the coffee cherries until the moisture content is reduced to 12-13%. Typically, a batch of coffee takes 25… (the rest of the article is missing).
