Coffee processing and export

Hulled coffee passes over vibrating screen decks and through aspiration, which lift out husk, chaff, dust, stones and foreign matter. This is where the bulk of non-coffee material leaves the stream.

Why it matters — Foreign matter is the fastest way to fail an arrival inspection, and it is a food safety issue before it is a quality one.

Cleaned coffee is separated by size over perforated screens and by density over gravity tables, then discharged into the separate grade streams a contract calls for — screen 18, screen 15, and the smaller and lighter fractions.

Why it matters — A screen specification is only meaningful if the mill can actually hold it. Where a requested screen class cannot be filled at the volume asked for, we say so at enquiry stage rather than at shipment.

Graded coffee runs through optical sorters that eject beans falling outside the accepted colour range — blacks, sours, insect damage and remaining foreign material — by air jet as the stream falls past the cameras.

Why it matters — Colour sorting is what takes a lot from a field grade to a contract defect count. Passes can be repeated where a tighter count is contracted, at the cost of outturn.

Finished coffee is bagged to the contracted presentation — 60 kg jute as standard, hermetic liners where the coffee warrants them — marked, and stacked on dunnage in the warehouse clear of walls and floor.

Why it matters — Most quality lost after milling is lost in storage. Stack ventilation and liner choice do more for arrival condition than anything added later.

Containers are inspected for cleanliness, odour and watertightness before stuffing, lined where the coffee requires it, and loaded under supervision. Bag count, weights, seal number and photographs are recorded as the container is closed.

Why it matters — That loading record is what resolves an arrival dispute. Without it, a short-landed or condensation-damaged container becomes one party’s word against the other’s.