Kokoda Coffee

The last step in the proper wet process of coffee is Drying. Most of the coffees in Papua New Guinea are sun dried.  The wet parchment is brought to huge drying fields, where long sails are laid out on the ground.  The parchment is spread in a thin layer on these sails and exposed to direct sunlight to dry.  Workers, usually the women move through the fields with rakes, moving the parchment around so that it dries fully.

Parchment drying on sails under a Papua New Guinean mid-afternoon sky

Sun drying increases the body and depth of the coffee; this normally takes around 8 days depending on the sun. If it rains, which is daily occurrence in Papua New Guinea, the sails are closed to keep the parchment inside from getting any extra moisture.

Women raking the parchment to ensure even drying

The other method used in Papua New Guinea to dry parchment is mechanical.  During the wet season, sometimes it is almost impossible to sun dry coffee so another way developed.  The wet parchment is dried on huge circular perforated metal beds, with a heat source underneath.  The parchment is constantly stirred using big mechanical arms to prevent uneven drying and case hardening.

Rotary mechanical dryer in a Papua New Guinean coffee factory

Parchment is considered dry when it's moisture content is between 9 – 11%. This is the end of the wet process.  

Click Dry Process, or use the menu on the left to continue the Journey of Coffee.