HARVESTING & PROCESSING
THE HARVEST
Although Hawaii’s weather and growing conditions allow more than one coffee harvest per year, the main harvest occurs between July and December.
PICKING THE BEANS
The majority of farms throughout Hawaii are smaller, allows them to hand select only the finest beans. On average, an experienced harvester will pick between 150 to 320 pounds daily.
Freshly harvested beans are closely inspected for quality control before the next step in preparation prior to roasting.
WET MILING
In a process called “wet milling,” coffee pulping separates the outer coffee husk from the inside coffee bean. The beans are then soaked for a number of hours to further soften any remaining pulp to facilitate removal during the drying process.
SUN DRYING
Large farms often use rotational drying machines to speed mass production. In contrast, boutique farms use the ancient method of sun drying on racks, a process that takes about seven days in the warm Hawaiian sun.
Beans are gently and continually turned with drying rakes to ensure uniform drying. What remains is a thin skin over the coffee bean called parchment, like the paper. This natural process retains more of the unique characteristics of the bean.
PROCESSING
After wet milling and sun drying, the beans are processed through a hulling machine to separate the thin parchment husk from the actual coffee bean.
CLEANING AND PACKAGING
Beans are then cleaned and sorted, by machine or by hand (the preferred method), to separate defective beans from those of the best quality. Finally, the green coffee is packed for delivery to nkope’s roasting facility.
