Additional information

Farmers and their families handpick cherry and deliver it to Ngoma station. At intake, only ripe, red cherry is accepted. Cherry is floated and any lights (cherry that floats due to lack of density) are removed. Next, cherry is pulped in the station’s Pinhalese pulper and sent through grading channels where it is separate by density. Coffee is fermented for several hours and then washed in several batches of clean water. Parchment is soaked in clean water for an additional 24 hours and moved to pre-drying tables.

At the tables, workers remove any damaged or defective cherry, which is most visible when the parchment is wet. Parchment is moved to raised drying beds where it dries under careful monitoring. Workers rake drying parchment frequently to ensure even drying. Once dry, parchment rests for about 30 days and is then milled and prepared for export. Coffee is hand sorted after dry milling to ensure that only the highest quality coffee remains yields.