Turismo

COFFEE
Processing of coffee is the method converting the raw fruit of the coffee plant into the coffee. The cherry has the fruit or pulp removed leaving the seed or bean which is then dried. While all green coffee is processed, the method that is used varies and can have a significant effect on the flavor of roasted and brewed coffee.
Picking
A coffee plant usually starts to produce flowers3–4 years after it is planted,[1] and it is from these flowers that the fruits of the plant (commonly known as coffee cherries) appear, with the first useful harvest possible around 5 years after planting. The cherries ripen around eight months after the emergence of the flower, by changing color from green to red, and it is at this time that they should be harvested. In most coffee-growing countries,there is one major harvest a year; though in countries like Colombia, where there are two flowerings a year, there is a main and secondary crop.
In most countries, the coffee crop is picked by hand, a labor-intensive and difficult process, though in places like Brazil, where the landscape is relatively flat and the coffee fields immense, the process has been mechanized. Whether picked by hand orby machine, all coffee is harvested in one of two ways:
Strip Picked: The entire crop is harvested at one time. This can either be done by machine or by hand. In either case, all of the cherries are stripped off the branch at one time.
Selectively Picked:
Only the ripe cherries are harvested and they are picked individually by hand. Pickers rotate among the trees every 8 – 10 days, choosingonly the cherries which are at the peak of ripeness. Because this kind of harvest is labor intensive, and thus more costly, it is used primarily to harvest the finer arabica beans.
The laborers who pick coffee by hand receive payment by the basketful. As of 2003, payment per basket is between US$2.00 to $10 with the overwhelming majority of the laborers receiving payment at the lower end. Anexperienced coffee picker can collect up to 6-7 baskets a day. Depending on the grower, coffee pickers are sometimes specifically instructed to not pick green coffee berries since the seeds in the berries are not fully formed or mature. This discernment typically only occurs with growers who harvest for higher end/specialty coffee where the pickers are paid better for their labor. Mixes of green and redberries, or just green berries, are used to produce cheaper mass consumer coffee beans, which are characterized by a displeasingly bitter/astringent flavor and a sharp odor. Red berries, with their higher aromatic oil and lower organic acid content, are more fragrant, smooth, and mellow. As such, coffee picking is one of the most important stages in coffee production.

Wet process
Coffeeprocessing aquapulp
In the Wet Process, the fruit covering the seeds/beans is removed before they are dried. Coffee processed by the wet method is called wet processed or washed coffee.[4] The wet method requires the use of specific equipment and substantial quantities of water.
The coffee cherries are sorted by immersion in water. Bad or unripe fruit will float and the good ripe fruit will sink. Theskin of the cherry and some of the pulp is removed by pressing the fruit by machine in water through a screen. The bean will still have a significant amount of the pulp clinging to it that needs to be removed. This is done either by the classic ferment-and-wash method or a newer procedure variously called machine-assisted wet processing, aquapulping or mechanical demucilaging:
Sorting coffee inwater
Ferment-and-Wash Method: In the ferment and wash method of wet processing the remainder of the pulp is removed by breaking down the cellulose by fermenting the beans with microbes and then washing them with large amounts of water. Fermentation can be done with extra water or, in "Dry Fermentation", in the fruit's own juices only.
The fermentation process has to be carefully monitored...