Coffee

Well, coffee picking season has arrived. The trees are lush and green and filled with cherry. Cherry is was the fruit is called when it ripens. It doesn't ripen all at once so you only pick the red cherry and leave the green on as they will ripen soon. Trees need a first, then second and usually a third picking. We looked at a farm today that had a pulper and a drying area. The pulp is immediately rinsed and washed off to get the bean out. Since the pulp is sweet you can imagine the smell in the heat. Some like it, the bees sure do, some don't. I find it a bit like an overripe fruit market smells on a very hot day. Bearable, but not my favorite smell. Once the beans are out of the pulper you just spread them out on a drying area and rake them over a couple times a day and let them dry for a few days. You then have green beans or parchment coffee beans that can be put in 100 lb bags and store until you are ready to roast and bag it. It is seeming pretty busy in the coffee picking farmland areas as they bring pickers in to pick all the farms. Ron tried it one day last week. He needed to see for himself how much he could pick. He picked about 70-80 lbs but said it didn't pay enought for him to do it except on his own farm. Everyone hires Mexican, Costa Rican and such laborers around here. They seem to like the work and are also very good at it. Soon the small towns down the roads will be smelling of roasting coffee. Now that is a wonderful smell to behold!!!