Wet Mill Coffee Processing
These are called wet mills because these processes use water or water is used to move the coffee from one process to another.
Wet mill coffee processing. The bean is washed and dried. Coffee processed by the wet method is called wet processed or washed coffee. The wet method requires the use of specific equipment and substantial quantities of water. The coffee beans are spread out in the sun or in specially designed mechanical drying machines.
Angie molina ospina of finca el triunfo in tolima colombia tells me that having an farm wet mill helps producers to better control the quality of their processes to define which processing method will be most suitable for their coffee to experiment with processing and make improvements and deliver traceability to a specific buyer. The coffee cherries are sorted by immersion in water. The water use in many traditional wet mills is excessive and wasteful. The wet method requires the use of specific equipment and substantial quantities of water.
Wet processing in this method the cherry is squeezed in a pulping machine or pestle and mortar which removes the outer fleshy material mesocarp and exocarp leaving a bean covered in mucilage. Bad or unripe fruit will float and the good ripe fruit will sink. Coffee processed by the wet method is called wet processed or washed coffee. In a traditional wet mill water is used to sort the ripe cherries to help lubricate the depulping machine and to ferry the coffee to the fermentation tank before the coffee is washed with water.
It is dried until it has acquired the desired humidity level. Finally water is used to classify the coffee by density. In the wet process the fruit covering the seeds beans is removed before they are dried. This mucilage is fermented and dispersed.
The coffee cherries are sorted by immersion in water.