SMANTANIA CAFÉ PRODUCTION & PROCESSING
SMANTANIA CAFÉ currently offers its valued customers four coffee lines: Smantania Premium Coffee, Smantania Gourmet Specialty Coffee, Smantania Gold Specialty Coffee and Smantania Platinum Specialty Coffee. To emphasize the quality of our coffee, we rigorously follow high processing standards.

Currently there are different methods in which coffee can be processed. After harvesting, these processes depend on environmental issues (climate, precipitation percentages, water availability, etc.) and also on the characteristics we are looking for in the cup, since the way it is processed has a great influence on the final flavor. .



WASHING PROCESS

The coffee is collected and taken to a workplace for pulping (removing the red or yellow skin) then left in a container for a period of 18 to 24 hours to ferment and later wash (remove the mucilage) and then take to a canopy to dry it for 12 to 15 days depends on the amount of sun to the point of 9.5 to 12.5% ​​humidity. This type of process is the most common in all of Colombia.

“Traditionally, a washed coffee has used water mainly to remove the mucilage, after the coffee has fermented for an ideal time according to the characteristics of room temperature, which allows me to hydrolyze the mucilage present in the bean (natural fermentation) and allow that with a single wash it is possible to eliminate up to 90% of this mucilage and start the second fermentation process that is carried out in drying at low temperatures and preferably a time greater than 15 days, which allows the genetic information to be preserved " .



THE HONEY PROCESS

The honey process is a process of fermentation and drying of the coffee cherry after pulping and begins once drying for a period greater than 20 days, making movements of the coffee mass to avoid the production of fungi that affect my sensory quality. The name of Honey, can lead us to deceive when associating with honey or with a flavor profile similar to that of honey. However, the term Honey refers to the mucilage, that sticky substance that surrounds each of the two seeds. Being so sticky and sugary, it is sometimes called honey.

In Honey Process processed coffees, green beans have a sweet, fruity background and deeply balanced acidity depending on the production process.

There are three levels of honey processing: red, black, and yellow. The main differences are the drying time, the techniques and the mucilage; the more mucilage in the seed, the stronger the flavors.



NATURAL PROCESS:

The dry method is also known as a natural process and is perhaps the oldest and most simple as it requires little machinery (albeit more labor). The method consists of drying the whole cherry once harvested, without removing the skin.

The ways in which this process is carried out may vary depending on the facilities available or the size of the plantation / production, but generally speaking, this is the process: First, the harvested cherries are sorted and cleaned, to separate those that are not ripe or damaged, affected by an insect or poor harvesting.

This can be done by hand or also in washing channels, where the ripe cherries float and the defective or green ones go to the bottom of the channel.

Cherries are placed in drying patios on mats, raised beds, or canopies.

As the cherries dry, they must be moved so that they all dry equally.

Drying in this type of process usually takes 20 or more days, although depending on the weather conditions it can take up to four weeks.

In very large plantations, part of the machine drying is sometimes done to speed up the process, but without first drying the coffee in the sun for a few days.

The drying stage is of vital importance as it affects the final quality of the green coffee and naturally the flavor: if it dries too much, the coffee will become brittle and can be damaged by threshing. A grain that is brittle is considered a defective grain.

If it doesn't dry out enough, it will have too much moisture and will be much more susceptible to fungi and bacteria.



WHAT IS MIXTURE:

A blend is a mixture of coffees from different origins whose objective is to obtain a cup with different qualities than each individual coffee should, seeking a balanced and complete cup.

The mixtures can be profiled by micro batches to improve the profile and mark in cups or also mixtures to extract large quantities of coffee retained in the required mesh.

Mixes can also be made by varieties, for example: Caturra and Variety Colombia or Caturra and Castillo according to the requirement of the client's profile.



TOASTED COFFEE

Transformation of coffee during roasting. Color, flavor, acidity, aroma and texture. During the roasting process.