| Defruiting
The coffee berries are a type of drupe,
with fruit flesh directly covering the coffee bean. For "washed" coffees, after
harvesting, the flesh of the coffee berry must be quickly removed by soaking,
scouring and/or mechanical rubbing. The defruited coffee bean is flushed with
water to remove clinging fruit and additional sugars before drying. These
coffees tend to rest in water (the "ferment" stage) for a set amount of time
(depending on the origin and producer). Washed coffees tend to be described as
"clean" and "bright." Coffees called "naturals" are those where the fruit is not
immediately removed from the beans, but is instead allowed to dry and partially
ferment. This creates a unique flavour profile with reduced acidity and
increased body, though if done poorly can lead to defect. Other coffee
processing methods include the Pulped Natural process, the Indonesian
"semi-washed" methods as well as aguapulping and re-fermentation. Each produces
its own flavour profile and each is, in essence, a different way of handling the
process of defruiting the beans. |
and/or