Traditional Washed

The main goal of the Traditional Washed Process is to remove the moist, outer layers of fruit from the coffee bean in order to dry it as easily as possible.

In order to do so, coffee is passed through a depulper which squeezes the bean, sending the outer skin one way and the bean, covered in mucilage, another way.

The bean is then fermented in order to soften the mucilage so that it can easily be washed away, leaving a clean parchment that can then be dried without much risk of mold.

This was the practical goal for which the Washed Process was created. There is less risk of mistakes in drying, it also dries quicker than having to dry the whole cherry and it takes up less space.

There are many regional variations, mainly dependent on the weather. How long you ferment the coffee for the mucilage to losen depends on the temperature, the hotter it is, the quicker the mucilage will soften, making it possible to be washed away from the bean (which is still covered by the parchment layer).

In El Salvador, coffee is usually fermented for a maximum of one day, in dry conditions. In other places, coffee is fermented underwater. In El Salvador, after depulping, the coffee is left in a pile inside an open tank, usually cement, nowadays can also be covered in tiles. The coffee ferments here and once the mucilage has softened, it is then washed. This washing also allows for a further removal of floaters (low density beans which float in water).

The coffee is then moved to the drying stage.