I've been reading how dry processing typically results in beans full of body, whereas wet processing diminishes body and gives a desirable acidity. Now I'd thought that when blending beans, particular regions were chosen for adding body, brightness etc due to differing agricultural and environmental conditions in each region. But now theres an implication that you could take the same cherries and, say, dry process 60% to give a base and wet process 40% to offer some bright, cleanness to the blend. Hence, regions would not matter... just varietal and processing method.
Wet processing
If there were some truth in this, and large-scale bean importers began sourcing beans differently, it might help overcome bean price rises, since the governments of some countries (eg Brazil) are currently deliberately keeping prices high by not incentivising increased production. If buyers like Mercanta switched the regions they bought from so they obtained more high quality beans from lower priced regions, but could still get the same bean characteristics, this sort of behaviour would, hypothetically, stop.
Dry processing
Now I'm completely clueless about all this and the above is just me mulling things over, but how far from the truth am I? (Maybe one for the roasters out there. )
I use this blog to capture my thoughts and assist me in the learning process. Often I record observations, findings and ideas that I subsequently learn are incorrect (all part of the learning process). Whilst I am happy to share such thoughts with anyone reading, I also advise caution in using them as any form of tutorial. With coffee, I will always have more to learn than I have to teach - Mike Haggerton (@HaggieBarista), proprietor of @HabitatCafe
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Processing methods & blends (Part 1)
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