
picking coffee beans
Hand Harvesting Ripe Coffee
is an Art
by Les Drent
Hand harvesting Kona coffee cherry. A ripe coffee bean - plump and red - signals harvest. Each year in Kona, where hand picking is the norm, one by one, the coffee beans come off the tree. Red coffee cherries must be picked without disturbing the unripe coffee beans on the coffee branch. This is a critical step in quality coffee production, according to George Yasuda, agricultural consultant for Tiare Lani Coffee, Inc. Picking coffee in its most ripened stage is a challenge, as well an art. Yasuda, 44, of Holualoa, says coffee is no different from any other fruit, in that it has its peak, ripened stage. But unlike most other fruit, it has little ripening leeway after it's picked. "The deterioration begins immediately after the cherry's off the tree, " he said. "The sugars begin to be converted to starches right away." This naturally occurring process leads to rot, and Yasuda recommends not letting coffee cherry sit for more than 10 hours.
PICKING
PULPING
"Readers may submit editorial comments to any of our stories We would be happy to attach your comments and feedback to anything we publish online. Thank you for your interest." Story appeared originally in Coffee Times print magazine and appears online for archival purposes only. Any use or reprinting of these stories without the expressed written consent of the author is prohibited. |