Coffee!

A large part of the land that is co-owned by the AEBR is used to grow coffee.  Since it's unlikely that you've toured this plantation, I've decided to document the different stages of the process.  Enjoy!

 

There are around 40,000 coffee plants total; around 27,000 of these are younger ones.

 

 

Many of these plants are quite old--some were planted back in the 1960's!

 

 

 

Coffee Blossom

 

Here's what the beans look like on the plant.

 

We had to climb up a hill to get to the spot where the washing/sorting/

drying takes place.  Caleb thoroughly enjoyed this part!

 

Okay.  We've now made it up, and are waiting for the director to come up to show us the various stages.

 

 

And, here we go!!

 

First, the beans are weighed and then put in this cement hopper.  They turn the water on and the beans proceed to the next step...

 

 

The above tank leads into this machine.  The first job of this machine is to remove the shells.  The second job is to divide the beans into three paths, according to their weight.  The third group is the lightest beans, and they don't really get used.  The second and first groups move on to the next stage...

 

 

 

The beans flow through the above tracks and are again divided according to weight.  The next level of tanks are just visible in the above picture.  The tank farthest away is for the third class, the middle for the second, and the one closest is for the first class.  The beans then sit in these tanks for 24 hours, fermenting. (see picture below)  This step helps remove a sticky sap-like substance.

 

 

The best quality ones continue on into the bottom vat.  In this section, water is again the key!  As the water flows, it carries the lighter beans away, and these second-class ones are drained out.

 

 

Starting up the water...

 

Sibo decided to try his hand at it!

 

 

The lighter ones being drained out.

 

Then we move on to the next phase!

 

 

The beans are moved over onto these screen racks and thoroughly sorted (yet again!), weeding out those of lesser quality.

 

 

 

What the beans look like at this stage.

 

 

Finally, the coffee beans are moved onto these racks to dry.

 

 

At this washing station they are not able to complete the entire process; when the beans are sold from here, they still have one more shell that needs to be removed before it can be roasted to make coffee.

 

 

The most fruitful time is from mid-February to mid-June, during the long rains.  There are 147 employees who work here; however, only 8 of them are permanent.

 

 

At the guest house we stayed at, they had these bowls in the living room.

 

 

Stage #1 (this is how far they get at the spot we just toured):

 

 

Stage #2 (the last shell removed):

 

Stage #3 (after being roasted):

 

So, there you have it!  You now know some of the stages the coffee beans go through on their way from the plant to your mug!