Among the coffee making methods, it is very easy for everyone to understand the sun-dried process and the washed process, but everyone is confused about the semi-dried process and the semi-washed process. What kind of processing method is this, and what impact does it have on the flavor of coffee? The front street of this article specially opens the topic of "half-sun drying" to give everyone a good understanding of this processing method.
Half sun? Semi-wash?
In fact, the semi-sun treatment and semi-wash treatment actually mean the same treatment method, because the processing methods happen to have the processes of sun treatment and water washing, but in fact, its correct name should be Pulped Natural, that is, the sun-drying method of the pulp.
This treatment method was born in Brazil in 1990. Before the emergence of this treatment method, Brazil used the traditional sun treatment, which was to spread it over a large area in a drying field for drying because the cost was the lowest. Its coffee is easily mixed with other impurities and easily infected and spoiled. This gives the coffee an overall rancid taste.
As early as the mid-18th century, the Dutch had already used washing processing to process coffee. But in Brazil, this is very unrealistic. Brazil is a country with insufficient water resources. If washed with water, an average of 1 ton of coffee cherries will consume 10-20 tons of water. The huge production of Brazilian coffee cannot afford water.
In 1990, Brazil finally invented the sun-drying method of pulp through many experimental treatments.
Semi-sun drying process
The coffee cherries are first put through a sink to remove defective and floating fruits, and then the peel, pulp and part of the gum layer are removed, and then washed for an hour. Since the fermentation time is very short, the pectin is not easily washed away, and pectin remains on the bean shells. At this time, the sticky shelled beans are spread in the exposure field to dry. It is best to use an African elevated mesh bed with good air permeability.
Seeing this, some friends will find that isn't this similar to water washing? Yes, it is very similar to the water washing process, except that the soaking time is much shorter than the water washing process, so the pectin layer is well preserved before being exposed to the sun.
Compared with the washing process, this treatment method saves a lot of water, reduces resource costs, and also changes the poor quality of Brazil's extensive sun-dried coffee, because due to the removal of the peel and pulp, the sun-drying time is greatly shortened, thereby also reducing the chance of infection. It can be said that this is Brazil’s unique way of dealing with local conditions.
How does semi-dried coffee taste?
For semi-dried coffee, Front Street Brazilian Cerato is the first choice. This coffee bean variety is a typical red bourbon. It is produced in the southern state of Minas at an altitude of 1000 meters. Front Street Coffee uses a medium roast.
Front Street Brazilian Red Bourbon Coffee Beans
Country: Brazil
Origin: Minas Gerais Cerrado
Altitude: 1000 meters
Variety: Red Bourbon
Treatment: Semi-sun drying
Flavor: caramel, peanut, cream, chocolate, almond
Through cupping, the coffee flavor of Front Street Brazilian Red Bourbon is high in sweetness, clean, smooth, low in acid value, with flavors of peanuts, almonds, nuts, and chocolate. The acidity, sweetness, seasoning, and aroma of the coffee processed by this method are quite good, but it does not have an amazing feeling.
Because of the balanced and soft characteristics of Front Street Brazilian Cerato, it is often a member of the Italian beans. The four main products of Front Street Black Cocoa Basic Blend, Front Street Commercial Blend, Front Street Boutique Blend, and Front Street Classic Blend all have the shadow of Brazilian coffee beans.
A derivative of semi-sun treatment - honey treatment
Nowadays, you can see very few semi-sun processed coffee, but many people don’t know that among the three major processing methods we are familiar with, honey processing is the semi-sun processed method that Costa Rica borrowed from Brazil. The biggest difference between honey processing and Brazilian semi-processing is that honey processing does not stick to water, so the selection of coffee cherries will be more stringent, pursuing full pectin.
Coffee pectin is mainly located under the peel and pulp and above the parchment paper. It is composed of water, protein, reducing sugar, pectin and other ingredients. In fact, pectin is also part of the pulp. When coffee cherries mature, pectinase is produced internally. The enzyme breaks down the pectin bonds and softens the originally hard pulp fibers into a hydrogel mucus rich in sugar and pectin. After using a machine to peel off the peel and most of the hard pulp, the remaining slime layer wrapped in parchment is what we call "pectin".
In the world of coffee processing, pectin is a very sweet substance. It has the characteristics of high water and sugar content, and it is not easy to separate from coffee seeds. Therefore, the key to creating exquisite fruit flavors through honey processing is the amount of pectin retained and the degree of sugar fermentation. Farmers can use special quantitative degumming machine equipment or adjust the number of manual turning times per day to obtain green coffee beans of different honey colors.
This is a processing method that improves the sweetness of coffee, balances the sourness, makes the fermentation flavor richer, and preserves pectin at a higher level than other honey treatments. Front Street Baja, Front Street Mozart and Front Street Strawberry Candy ·Geisha blends are also processed with raisin honey. After medium and light roasting, they not only retain the charming floral aroma, but also highlight the high sweetness of fruits such as raisins, ripe pineapples, jackfruit, sweet oranges, etc. They can be brewed by hand, extracted in a French press, and can be made into various iced coffees.
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
