Learning About Coffee Production at a Peruvian Coffee Plantation
Peru is the world's 11th largest coffee producer and has 10 different producing regions, all with unique growing profiles. On my trip to Peru to do the Salkantay Trek I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon at a plantation in the south of Peru. The Cusco region sits at 900 to 2,000 metres above sea level, a desirable altitude for the production of specialty-grade coffee beans. Producers here tend to grow Caturra, Bourbon, and Typica. Productivity is low, but the zone’s climate and soil lead to high-quality coffees with notes of red and black fruits, plums, raisins… grapes, and strong notes of chocolate, with a creamy body and medium acidity. Vibrant floral notes and rich sweetness of these beans are highly sought after by premium roasters.
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Ripe cherries are harvested from the coffee bush/tree. When young the cherries are green and once mature they turn bright red. Harvesting can be done by strip picking (cherries are stripped off of the branch, either by hand or by machine) or selective picking (cherries are picked and the green ones are left to ripen. Picking is carried out at 10 day intervals).
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As soon as possible after harvesting the cherries are processed by a wet or dry method. During the wet method the cherries are processed with water to extract the beans. The cherries are put through a pulping machine that squeezes out the skin without damaging the beans. The dry method is the traditional method used. The fresh cherries are spread out on a large surface and left to dry in the sun for 15 to 20 days. They are regularly turned and raked throughout the day to avoid fermentation and to ensure they dry evenly. Depending mainly on the weather conditions, the drying process may take several weeks for each individual picking run, until picked cherries have a moisture content of less than 11%. At this stage, the outer layer will have dried up and turned black and brittle. The drying makes it relatively easy to remove the outer skin. At the plantation I visited they used the dry method.
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The next step is hulling which involves removing the dried husk.
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Polishing: Coffee polishing is an optional step that is skipped by some millers. It involves getting rid of any sliver skin that may have found its way through hulling. Polished beans are considered to be of a higher quality than unpolished ones.
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Roasting is carried out at temperatures of approximately 550F during which time the green coffee beans are turned continuously to avoid burning. Green beans are first dried until they become yellow and develop roasting smell. Once the beans register an internal temperature of 400F, the step called ‘first crack’ happens during which the beans double in size and start to turn light brown. After that, as the temperature continues to rise, the colour changes to medium brown and a fragrant oil starts to emerge.
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The primary goal of a grind is to produce the most flavour in a cup of coffee. The type of coffee brewer used determines how fine or coarse the coffee should be ground. The type of grinding determines how fast the coffee can release its flavours. This is the reason espresso coffee is so finely ground. On the other hand, coffee prepared with filter coffee makers is coarse-grained (coarsely ground).
Coffee Production Process
