The majority of
the coffee in Costa Rica is harvested between the
months of July and December and many of the small
mills that process the raw coffee cherries swing
into full operation during this time of the year. At
many coffee mills around Costa Rica, visitors are
welcome throughout the year to a unique opportunity
to view first hand the operations of a working
coffee farm and mill. Much of the coffee processed
during the fall season arrives at these mills from
many different farms around Costa Rica. Carried
inside burlap sacks this freshly picked coffee
cherry is purchased by the pound from the farmers at
a price commensurate to the industry standard.An
average picker on these farms can pick between one
hundred to three hundred pounds a day depending on
the time of season and are usually paid by the
cherry pound for their effort.
When the coffee arrives at the mill or one of its
outside cherry stations it is always inspected for
freshness and color before it is sent down the chute
into the coffee pulper. This process is known as wet
milling and occurs at the end of each day when all
the cherry has been brought in. A cherry pulper is
basically a metal cylinder with stripping knobs that
squeeze and remove the husks from the coffee beans.
The beans are then soaked in giant holding tanks of
water for a period of about 8 to 18 hours, usually
overnight. The husks are sent out of the mill and
into a waiting truck that will take it back into the
fields for use as fertilizer. The morning after the
soaking tank is drained and the beans are carted out
onto drying decks to be sun dried. This natural
drying process usually takes about a week. In some
cases the beans are finished off in large rotating
drying drums powered by household heating oil. The
sun drying of the beans takes both space and time
but is believed to be the best method for retaining
more of the coffee's flavor. Many of Costa Rica's
older farms are built with "false pitched roofs"
which actually slide back on rollers to receive the
sun light and close up to protect the drying coffee
from the afternoon rain showers that frequent this
region. These false roofs were developed by
the Japanese farmers during the 1800's and are still
widely used in Costa Rica.
During the sun drying period it is essential the
beans be shifted or raked every so often to assure
thorough drying. Once the beans have been dried a
thin membrane exists almost like a shell around the
coffee beans called parchment. Parchment is
important if the coffee is going to be stored for a
long period of time and can greatly increase the
bean's storage life if preserved properly. In Costa
Rica, that storage life is rarely necessary because
of the high demand in the world marketplace.
The next step in the milling process is removing
the parchment and taking the coffee to what is
called the "green stage" simply meaning the state of
the bean before it can be roasted. When the
parchment is removed from the green bean the coffee
undergoes a stringent grading system that classifies
the beans according to size, weight and number of
defects. These steps are completed by two different
machines. The first screening for size and the later
for weight on what is known as a gravity table. This
grading process is important because it is a product
assurance program that is designed to maintain the
integrity and distinction of quality in the
different grades of coffee. Defected beans are
usually hollow, deformed or chipped and weigh
considerably less than what a true bean would weigh.
These defects if not separated from the rest have
the ability to spoil a cup of coffee with bitterness
or a sharp unpleasant aftertaste. Therefore it is
always important to know your grade of coffee when
purchasing.
