Definition:
Dry processing, also known as a natural process, unwashed, or natural sundried, includes drying coffee cherries in the sun on patios or raised beds. To keep the cherries from rotting, they are raked and rotated throughout the day, then covered at night or during rainstorms.
After the coffee cherries have been picked from the trees, they are spread out in thin layers to dry in the sun. Depending on the farm or region, the drying stations can vary; some use brick patios, while others use unique raised beds (=tables) that allow air to flow around the cherries, resulting in more even drying. The cherries are rotated frequently to prevent mould, fermentation, and rotting. After the cherries have dried sufficiently, the peel and dried fruit meat are mechanically removed, and the green coffee is kept and “rested” before being exported.
Production time:
This is the more conventional way of preparing coffee, which generally takes 3-6 weeks.
Popular area:
The natural process is prevalent in locations with no access to water, such as Ethiopia and some sections of Brazil and Vietnam’s Central Highland provinces. It works best in low humidity and sporadic rain, such as in Ethiopia and Yemen. In the places where it is utilized, the procedure is primarily traditional, and there hasn’t been much progress in natural processing in recent years.