There are two harvesting methods:
picking and stripping.
The first method, which is completely
manual, consists of harvesting only
the red, and therefore completely ripe,
cherries from the coffee plant.
This method is very expensive, of course,
but it guarantees a decidedly high average
quality for the product.
Stripping, on the other hand, consists of a much faster process in which entire clusters of ripened berries are removed, either by hand or with appropriate machinery.
On the ground, the beans are collected and placed in baskets; however, there is a higher risk of also gathering unripe or overripe beans than in the picking method.
Once harvested, the beans are separated from the pulp, using either the dry method or the wet method. The dry method is the process used to obtain "natural" coffees and consists of drying the cherries in the sun for several days. After the required amount of time for complete drying has passed, the drupes are pulped with appropriate machinery, removing the skin and the dry pulp.
The wet method, which is lengthier and more costly, produces what is known as "washed" coffee. However, this system requires the availability of the large quantities of water needed to wet the sieves through which the fruit passes to remove the pulp. After passing through these sieves, the beans are placed in fermentation tanks. When the fermentation process is complete, the beans are washed and then dried either mechanically or in the sun. Once dry, the beans are milled to remove the parchment and reveal the green coffee bean.