preparation of tbe Coffee in Geslon, 349 



ripe, the sooner it is pulped the better, as, if this operation is delayed, 

 the coffee becomes heated, which injures the color of the shell. In 

 very dry weather it is sometimes necessary to sprinkle the coffee lightly 

 with water a few hours before pulping it, as, if it were pulped dry the 

 beans would break and the coffee lose in quality. 



The pulping machines are moved in Ceylon by steam. 



When the coffee leaves the pulping machine, it passes into large 

 tanks paved and walled with stone, where it is kept until the mucilage 

 remaining on it has fermented sufficiently. The time which it should 

 remain in the tanks depends on the elevation of the plantation above 

 the level of the sea, and the state of the temperature. At an altitude 

 of three thousand feet, the coffee should be kept in the tanks for two 

 days. 



The receiving tanks have an opening at the bottom to allow the 

 water to run out, in addition to the sluice through which the coffee 

 passes from the receiving tank into the tank in which it is to be washed. 

 When it is ready to be washed, the water is allowed to run into the re- 

 ceiving tank; the coffee is moved about with long-handled wooden 

 shovels, two feet in length and nine inches in width, until there is 

 sufficient water in the contiguous tank. When the coffee has passed 

 into this tank the water is to be changed several times until the muci- 

 laginous part is entirely removed and the parchment-like hull is of a 

 yellowish-white color. 



The tank in which the coffee is washed should be slightly inclined, 

 so that the lighter beans and the husks may be carried to the lower end, 

 where they are collected by means of sieves or baskets. The beans 

 that float are allowed to pass into another lower tank, where all the 

 coffee of inferior quality is collected. 



After it has been washed, the coffee in the hull is heaped up on an 

 inclined platform, to allow the water to run off, remaining there until 

 the following morning, or longer, if the weather is wet. If the weather 

 continues wet, the coffee is carried to the storehouse and spread on 

 mats, spreading it out as much as the space will permit, so that the air 

 may dry it. When the wet weather continues long and the storehouses 

 are full, the coffee is allowed to remain on mats, fires being made to 

 dry the air. The coffee is to be moved about continually, in order that 

 it may not become heated; and it should even be sprinkled with water 

 daily. When the wet weather continues very long, there is danger of 

 the coffee being spoiled by becoming heated and germinating. 



When the weather is dry and the sun hot, two days will be sufficient 

 to prepare the coffee for sending it to the port of Colombo. When the 

 coffee has been well washed and thoroughly dried immediately after 

 being washed, it is of a light color and very lustrous. 



Coffee of inferior quality and waste coffee are dried apart. 



