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Coffee matures only one time each year. To ensure it is
picked at its best, neither too ripe, nor too green, the harvest takes place in
stages. As the coffee ripens, it is harvested every fifteen days to assure
only the most red, plump cherries are taken. Coffee is hand-picked by
those whose experience is multigenerational. The younger workers learn how
to gently handle the plants plucking ripe coffee from the stem without damaging
the green coffee. This year, one could even hear comments being made among
the workers, "we have to pick only the ripest so the coffee will taste really
good". Because this effort includes profit-sharing for the workers, they
have fully invested themselves in the Green Parrot product. It has become
an expression of who they are and a source of pride.
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These are some of our friends who work on our coffee
farms. There was a plentiful harvest this year
providing excellent wages. The average number of
gallons harvested per day per experienced adult harvester
was nearly nine gallons. This translates at 20 lempiras
per gallon to L180.00 lempiras per day or $9.52 which is nearly three times
the usual daily wage. This does not include the year
end bonus given to the workers, which is based on a
percentage of total profits divided among each worker
according to individual productivity.
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It is very important to process picked coffee immediately to
prevent fermentation of the beans. The harvest begins
at 6:00 AM every morning and usually ends by 3:00 PM.
Workers bring the coffee to the "beneficiary" or processing
shed at the end of each day. The coffee is measured in
five gallon buckets while the crew chief supervises and
writes down the daily totals for each worker. It is a
lively time for the workers as they compare harvest amounts
among one another. There is always a spirit of
competition to see who can bring in the greatest number of
gallons harvested. |
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Getting Down to Beans-ness
- Just as soon as the final gallon count is in, it is
time to get down to business. The harvested cherries are poured into a
holding bin which carefully feeds them into a machine which takes off the skin
and pulp. It is very much like taking the grape skin off of the seed.
It is very important that this machine be carefully regulated to prevent
breakage or damage of the bean. Equally important is that as much as
possible of the skin and the pulp be removed, preventing fermentation of the
beans. The machine separates the beans from the pulp dumping the newly
washed coffee into a large cement holding tank. The coffee cherry pulp
and skins are directed through a PVC pipe to an area away from the processing
shed where they will be allowed to decompose. They are eventually mixed
with other compost and used to fertilize the coffee trees.
Even though the pulp and skins have been
removed, there is still a thin film of pulp surrounding the bean. This
pulp gives off a sweet nectar or sap which is often referred to as "honey".
If the beans are not carefully handled, the remainder of the pulp can
decompose and begin a process of fermentation which will eventually effect the
quality of the coffee. In order to avoid fermentation, the cement
holding tank is filled with water and the beans washed several times to remove
as much of the remaining pulp as possible. After the beans are
thoroughly washed, they are drained and left in the holding tank for a period
of twelve hours or so. This allows for the remaining honey
to be removed without the risk of fermentation. Properly washed coffee
has a sweet smell without any hint of acidity or sourness. The beans,
which still have a paper covering over them should remain yellowish white,
never turning dark or brown. |
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Washed Gold
- After 12 hours have elapsed, it is necessary to wash the coffee one final
time before it is to be dried. This is an intensive process which
requires patience and good technique. This process which is the first
step in classification of coffee is based on the principle of weight.
Washed gold as it is commonly referred to, is the heaviest of the coffee
beans. They are separated from the lighter coffee beans using a series
of channels and high water flow. As the coffee is washed and fed into
these channels, the lighter, smaller coffee beans begin to rise to the surface
and stream along ahead of the heavier beans. The coffee beans are
stirred and moved using a long-handled wooden "spatula". The channels
are blocked at different stages and the coffee is separated according to its
weight. Once all of the second class coffee is washed away into a
separate holding tank, the coffee that remains is considered washed gold.
It is washed one last time to assure all of the honey has been drawn off and
then it is guided to a holding tank, ready to be bagged and taken to the
cement patio for drying.
| (Pictured right is the water separation process.
The insets demonstrate the difference between the weight classes of coffee.) |
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Once the coffee is washed, it is held in cement holding tanks according to
its respective classification. Every gallon of coffee in cherry form
produces one third of one gallon of washed gold. The same day the coffee
is washed and classified, it is taken to the valley below where it is spread
out beneath the sun on cement drying patios. The coffee is turned over
by hand using wooden rakes to assure that the beans dry uniformly. The
coffee will loose more than 47% of its total weight by the end of this drying
process. |
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