The biggest excitement of the coffee year was the installation of a coffee depulping & washing machine.
This is the first step of processing after harvest in which the pulp is stripped off the bean, which then goes through a special washing process to remove the pulp residue, or honey, before it's put out to dry.
One of the great benefits about having our own machine, is that now we don't need to transport our coffee to other locations and wait in line to get ours depulped. This gives us a flexibility of working around our own schedule.
Another benefit is the side product - coffee pulp is a nutrient-rich organic matter that we plan to utilize. We are accumulating this throughout the season and composting it, with plans to put it around the coffee plants to build up the soil.
We also offer the processing service to the local coffee community. Business has started off slow due to several new machines in the area. Also the area has seen a smaller harvest this year due to the coffee rust that's been affecting the country. But we hope to pick up more customers with time.