722. Fermenting. The stones are then fermented to re- 

 move from them the saccharine matter adhering to them which 

 renders it difficult to dry the beans. The stones are carried into 

 tanks which are placed higher than the drying platforms on 

 which the fermented beans are finally spread out. There are 

 usually 4 fermenting tanks, two in which fermentation actually 

 takes place and two in which the beans are afterwards washed. 

 One of each is used for the produce of one day's pulping. All 

 the stones pulped in one day are allowed to remain in the 

 receiving cistern until fermentation has set in, i. e. for 12 

 to 18 hours, according to the temperature. The stones are 

 then run into the washing cistern and the receiving cistern 

 made available for another day's produce. 



723. Drying. The washed beans are then carried to the 

 drying floors or platforms where they are exposed to the 

 influences of the sun and atmosphere. The floor is asphalted 

 Or simply made of concrete, or the ground is hardened and 

 covered with a coir matting. The last method has the 

 advantage of admitting of the surplus matting being thrown 

 over the beans in the event of an occasional shower, but 

 shed-accommodation, where the beans may be rapidly re- 

 moved when rain comes on, is essential. During drying, 

 the beans have to be constantly raked or stirred with coolies' 

 feet. Too rapid drying, cracking the beans, and dispropor- 

 tioned drying through careless raking, are to be avoided. 



724. Peeling or miling. The outer skin or 'parchment' 

 of the beans is now removed. This is usually done by ma- 

 chinery in Europe instead of in the plantation. The beans 

 are dried in the sun or artificially heated before they are put 

 into peeling machines. 



725. Winnowing and Sizing. The peeled coffee as it 

 comes from the mill is subjected to fanning which drives off 

 the parchment and skin, leaving the clean coffee behind. 

 Then the coffee seeds are separated by mechanical means into 

 different sizes that roasting afterwards may be uniform. 



