Barista Magazine is your home for the worldwide community of coffee and the people who make it.
Issue link: http://baristamagazine.epubxp.com/i/60686
by this technique. Most notably Hacienda Esmeralda processes its Geisha Variety with this technique, with exceptional results. SUMMARY Coff ee is de-mucilaged by machine and is sent to be dried. EXCEPTIONS While it is rare that eco-pulpers are used with fermentation it can easily be done and the process would then be entirely diff erent. In southwestern Ethiopia, where 72 new washing stations were recently built, and a few washing stations in the south of Ethiopia, eco-pulpers are being used with no fermentation, but the coff ee is then sent into a post de-mucilaged soak, thus creating a hybrid process. I have also seen eco-pulpers create honey processed coff ees in Brazil and other places, and have seen producers in Central and South America and Rwanda use eco-pulpers in all sorts of hybrid process concepts. FLAVORS Overall there seem to be lot of opinions, both good and bad, on eco-pulpers that are using no fermentation. But realistically looking at the award- winning coff ees that have utilized this type of processing, I think some of the criticism is not entirely well founded. Of the coff ee I have tasted in traditional fermentation and no fermentation, there are a few characteristics that I have noticed. Oſt en times I notice a more intense fragrance for coff ee done on eco-pulpers. In the case of a coff ee from Adado Cooperative in the south of Ethiopia, the body stands out as being fuller than all the other coff ees from the Cooperative Union that use wet fermentation. In a few coff ees from Latin America when I have tasted traditional and no fermentation, side by side, the eco-pulped acidity was slightly dulled compared to its fermented counterpart, but only by a negligible diff erence. In a particular coff ee from El Salvador, I noticed a creamy, malty, rounded quality in the eco-pulped/ no fermentation sample, compared to a crisper, slightly more tart but with a SECTION TWO DRYING Whether you are a roaster or an importer, these days most operations have a moisture meter to let us know the percentage of water that the coff ee was dried to. Ten to 13% moisture is generally the acceptable range, with most people preferring somewhere between 10.5 and 11.5. T e next question is, how did it get there? With diff erent drying practices that can achieve 10 to 13% moisture between one and 30 days, the 'how' is becoming just as important as the 'how much. ' Note: I am solely talking about coff ees that go through the washed process. Here is a general breakdown of the drying processes I have seen. PATIO Patios are especially popular in Latin America but are found all around the world. T e two most common types of patios are cement and clay. El Salvador is the place I have seen the highest frequency of clay. Typically for both types of patios coff ee is put out on the patio in a fairly thin, one-to-two- inch layer, aſt er fermentation and washing. T e coff ee is then raked many times a day to ensure even drying. At night the coff ee is either leſt on the patio or gathered in piles and covered to protect it from moisture. Cement patios will have drying times between three and six days depending on how thick the coff ee is laid on the patio, and also depending on the weather. Clay slight vegetal edge of the traditional fermented counterpart. What I will say is that fermentation creates fl avor in coff ee. Longer fermentation combined with soaking add and likely take away certain fl avors, and by not going through that process you are aff ecting the fl avor of a coff ee for better or worse. www.baristamagazine.com 47