Andinas Colombian Coffee Single Origin: GOURMET
By Andinas
Andinas Coffee Gourmet, it's a exotic 100% Colombian coffee, grown in the rugged mountains of the Santanderean Colombian Andes. Sowed and protected under shade of the diverse and endemic vegetation of the area, which is its source of great value and provides special attributes that make it exceptional, highlighting its fruity aromas and fascinating fragrances.
The washed process, sometimes known as wet process, is commonly found in many growing countries around the globe including Africa, and most of Central and South America. The methods and equipment to perform this type of processing are different from place to place, but the design remain universal: Its designed to remove the coffee fruit from the coffee seed quickly and thoroughly after the coffee is picked, so that can be dried clean in its parchment layer.
Generally speaking the washed process can be an efficient way to prepare coffee seeds for export in climates that have cool overnight temperatures and good sun exposure during the day, it is also a space-saver for small producers who do their own wet milling and some of their drying on their property.
To begin, coffee is harvested ripe when the coffee is dark red, bright red, purple or yellow depending on the variety that was cultivated. The cherries are selectively picked by hand. And carried to a receiving point; at Andinas the cherry is delivered to the repulsing station, prior of being depulped it is weighed, rinsed and given its first sort for quality.
Depulping typically takes place within 8 to 12 hours of the harvest, after repulsing, the seeds (beans) are still covered in their sticky fruit material called Mucilage. This mucilage is removed during the washing process, the pulp left over is usually used for compost or fuel. In this case the seeds are kept dry, open fermentation style, which means they’re not submerged in water during the fermentation.
The seeds would be left like this overnight to ferment. Fermentation happens in every type of post-harvest processing, but in the Washed Process, the producer tries to moderate the time and temperature, as well as the velocity of the fermentation process. Fermentation is useful because it will help soften the mucilage, making it easier to remove in the washing.
The next day the actual washing begins. Andinas Coffee makes sure the mucilage has fermented enough by inspecting a sample to get a feel for the stickiness of the mucilage material. Then the coffee is submerged in water and fed through channels to agitate the water and remove the mucilage, leaving the coffee clean in its parchment layer ready for drying.
The clean coffee seeds are then taken to the drying station where they would be laid under full sun on African beds and spread in thin layers to allow for proper air circulation, the beans are rotated daily until they reach 11% moisture content. Afterwards they will be stored in sacks in a temperature regulated warehouse until is time for roasting.
