The sun-drying method, as the name suggests, is to spread the harvested coffee berries flat on the ground.(Special drying net or terrace), use sunlight exposure(about 2-3 weeks), dehydrate the coffee cherries until the moisture content reaches the target value, and then use a machine to remove the dried husks to get the green coffee beans we want. The biggest advantage of solarization is that it does not rely on water resources, as long as there is sufficient sunlight, so it is the oldest and cheapest treatment method.Since solar processing does not have a high technical content, basically every small farmer in each household can handle it by themselves. There are also some special processing stations that collect coffee cherries picked nearby for centralized processing. Therefore, the quality of sun-dried beans varies greatly. Some processing stations that pay attention to quality will invest a lot of money and energy to process each batch of sun-dried beans. Among them, fresh coffee fruits will be screened to remove unripe fruits, over-ripe fruits, defective fruits, and some gravel and debris, which will affect the overall sun-dried flavor of the coffee.
When drying, elevated drying beds are used to dry the coffee berries away from the ground to prevent the coffee cherries from being infected by reptiles, dust, and bacteria. Moreover, during the sun-drying period, a dedicated person will check the dryness of the coffee cherries and pick out the wormy, exploding and moldy berries to prevent these fruits from affecting the fermentation and dryness of other coffee cherries.Generally, producers who have higher quality requirements for sun-dried green beans adopt this exquisite processing method to ensure the flavor expression of the coffee. For example, the Ethiopian sun-dried red cherry coffee beans sold on Front Street have obvious tropical fruit flavors, full fermentation and sweetness.The biggest difference between the sun-drying method and the water-washing method is that the water-washing method removes all the outer layers of the green coffee beans before drying them, while the sun-drying method does not remove any coffee cherry structure. The whole fruit is directly laid out on the cement floor or a ventilated mesh bed to dry. Because the pulp is left to dry, the coffee beans have more time to come into contact with the sugars in the pulp, allowing more substances to penetrate into the seeds, resulting in higher sweetness, body and fruit flavor, and a stronger taste.In addition to washing and sun-drying, different production areas will also invent green coffee bean post-processing methods in between according to local conditions, such as semi-sun drying in Brazil.In 1990, the Brazilian Coffee Research Institute developed the semi-sun drying method, also called pulp sun drying, based on the characteristics of the local climate and drought.（Pulped Natural）. Before drying the coffee cherries, the pulp and peel are removed, leaving only a thin layer of pectin that is exposed to the sun for 1 to 3 days. Then it is dried by machine to a moisture content of 12%, and then placed in a storage container for maturation. The semi-sun drying method not only saves water resources, shortens the processing time, but also reduces the negative flavor caused by the processing process, greatly improving the quality of Brazilian beans.The Front Street Brazilian Red Bourbon Beans launched by Front Street are coffee beans selected from the Cerrado production area. Using this semi-sun-dried processing method, they present the classic Brazilian chocolate, caramel, cream, and peanut flavors, as well as a higher mellow taste.Treatment methods derived from sun exposure and water washing include, in addition to Brazil's semi-sun exposure, honey treatment, which has become very popular in recent years. Producers who use honey processing will first pour the fresh coffee fruit into the water tank and pass it through flotation to remove insufficiently mature fruit and impurities, and then use a peeling machine to peel off the outermost layer of the fruit.Different from the water washing method, after the fresh coffee fruit takes off the peel, it is not rinsed with a large amount of water to remove the pectin, but the pectin is retained and dried. Because pectin contains sugar and has a sticky state, it is easy to think of honey, so it was named honey processing. Compared with the water washing method, honey processing does not require a large amount of fresh water and related equipment. Compared with the sun drying method, it reduces the negative flavors caused by being exposed to the sun for a long time.Coffee processed with honey generally presents a full tropical fruit flavor and fermented sweetness in cupping, with an overall fresh taste and clean acidity. For example, the Front Street Hope Manor Gesha in the Front Street Bean List uses honey processing, and it tastes likeVery rich purple grape juice, rich rose aroma, and lively citrus acidity.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
