Your CartTips on How to Pick, Prep, and Roast Your Own Coffee Beans
By Marketing | August 5, 2011
When we visited the Shim Coffee Farm in Kula, Maui last month, farmer Casey Shim greeted us with a big, friendly smile. He wanted to share his knowledge of processing organic coffee with us.
Casey Shim at his Coffee Farm
His one-man farm operation keeps Casey busy throughout the summer. He’s got a thorough operation at his farm, and the results he produces with Maui-grown coffee are simply delicious.
Here are a few of his top tips to make coffee at home with homegrown coffee plants. (This is not a step-by-step guide; you’ll have to meet with Casey Shim and take a Maui coffee farm tour for the complete directions!)
Picking Coffee Berries
Tip #1: Pick only ripe, bright red coffee berries.
Tip #2: Pick from top to bottom on coffee trees.
Tip #3: Pull beans toward you as you apply pressure to pick off the branch.
Pulping Coffee Beans
Tip #1: Remove all leaves, twigs, green beans before processing berries in a hopper, or pulp-removing machine.
Tip #2: Once pulped, fill a bucket with water and use a screen scooper or colander to filter out bad beans and debris
Ripe coffee berries at Shim Coffee Farm
Fermenting Coffee Beans
Tip #1: After pulping, fill a bucket of coffee beans with water.
Tip #2: Let sit for 12-24 hours, you’ll notice some bubbling
Rinsing Coffee Beans
Tip #1: This step is easy, just repetitive. Use a colander or screen to filter out debris, etc.
Drying Coffee Beans
Tip #1:Always spread beans out evenly and leave it in the sun.
Tip #2: Avoid rain at all costs!
Tip #3: Be patient, drying beans could take 2-3 weeks.
Coffee beans out to dry at Shim Coffee Farm
Hulling Coffee Beans
Tip #1: You definitely need a bucket to catch the hulled beans from a hopper.
Winnowing Coffee Beans
Tip #1: What’s winnowing? Separating the good beans from the leftover debris
Roasting Coffee Beans
Tip #1: At home, a stovetop method works OK
Tip #2 (recommended): Take beans to a professional roaster.
Enjoying Coffee
Tip #1: Inhale, Sip, Relax!
Tip #2: Treat friends and family to a surprise gift by packaging your coffee beans!
Once your coffee's roasted, package it as a gift!
Learn more about Hawaiian Coffee
Read this article about the Hawaiian coffee some of our employees enjoy!
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A lot would really wonder and ask how much beans are rejected from the original harvested beans count. Nevertheless, it really takes a real good screening to pick only the best before grinding to provide the most excellent coffee experience.
I never knew how much coffee beans has been rejected from the first harvest.