PREPARATION OF THE COFFEE-BEAN 125 



v^re usually sun-dried for several days, by being spread out over a 

 mortar-covered and inclined area, in order that the pulp and the 

 outer covering of the beans may separate. The berries are spread 

 out in a thin layer (six to eight inches thick) in order to prevent 

 fermentation w^hich sours and injures their flavor. Uniform drying 

 is accomplished by a frequent stirring of the berries. The beans are 

 gathered w^ith a long wooden implement in the form of a broad 

 plank bearing a handle about one and one-half metres long. This 

 plank is scraped over the drying-pavement or court. In this manner, 

 it drags off the beans. The coffee is ready to be removed from 

 the drying-courts w^hen the parchment of the bean has changed from 

 its slippery condition to a brittle state. This drying-process requires 

 a v\reek in fine v^^eather and two weeks or more if the weather is 

 wet or devoid of sunshine. Tropical dews are exceedingly heavy; 

 and hence the bean-covered drying-courts are covered with mattings 

 during the night. This sun-drying process results in a good product, 

 but it is a very delicate process, since the color and quality of the 

 bean depend largely on its duration and method. This procedure 

 is not so advantageous as a drying-machine because a drying-ground 

 is expensive, owing to the greater amount of labor required. More- 

 over, a drying-court desiccates less coffee in a given period and not 

 so well as a drying-machine. Ordinarily, in the West Indies, a 

 mill is used to remove the pulp while fresh. In many American 

 plantations, the fresh berries are placed at once in large tanks of 

 water in which they ferment and the pulp is separated from the 

 beans which are then cleaned by machinery and dried for three to 

 four days by spreading out in a thin layer over a stone court where 

 they are stirred occasionally to accelerate the desiccation. Drying 

 by means of the sun's rays is done prior to the parchment removal. 

 The coffee is then stored until perfectly dry, at which time the beans 

 are spread out over brick-paved courts and exposed again to the sun's 

 rays for two to three days. When the coffee-beans are sufficiently 

 dry to be difficult to break with the teeth they are crushed (hulled) 

 by a man, mule, horse, or water-driven mill. The beans are then 

 transferred to a winnowing-mill which, in the West Indies, con- 

 sists merely of four pieces of tin on a rapidly revolving axle. The 

 resulting production of wind fans away all of the pellicles and other 

 debris from the coffee. The beans are then placed upon tables and 



