It's time to wrap up the picking and start preparing the coffee for export. At the end of the picking season we host a feast for all the workers. This allows for a nice end to all the hard work required to have a successful harvest. In the previous newsletter we discussed how we wash and dry our coffee, let's pick up there.

After the coffee has been dried properly it is allowed to rest, it will rest for at least one month prior to shipping, this resting period allows the beans to set and the flavor and density of the coffee to mature. For the resting period, we store the coffee in the same burlap sacks that will be used for export so that they can breath while they are stored. Most places will store the coffee in plastic bags; the problem is that plastic bags don't have holes for the coffee to breath. You can tell the difference since the bags are tied with a pony tail end while resting, and sown together with the export marking when ready for the boat.

Once the coffee is rested, it is time to prepare it for export, and this involves grading. Grading is the process of improving the overall quality of the coffee by removing beans of a lesser quality. We grade our coffee by weight, size and visual/manual inspection. Grading by size is what is referred to as the screen size of the coffee. This process involves the use of various screens where the smaller size beans fall through to the bottom and are discarded as a second class. The screen size of Selva Negra's coffee is mostly 17 and 18.

The last layer of the coffee is removed just prior to shipment. This last layer, called the parchment, or silver skin, is the last protection of the raw coffee bean. A mill removes this layer by pressing the bean against a drum and expelling the husk with air. Once this step is done, the coffee should again be graded, classified and finally packed for export.

The burlap sacks need to be marked for proper identification, among others the Selva Negra logo, the export identification and Lavado Matagalpa. SHG must be on the sacks.

The sacks are then placed in a shipment container that consists of 250 or 275 bags of 150lbs each. Once the container is loaded up, it is locked and sent to the port. This lock will not be opened again until the container arrives at its destination. The container is transported by land to the port of export selected by the buyer. The ports of export commonly used by Selva Negra are: Corinto on the West Coast, or Honduras' and Guatemala's port on the East Coast. Most of our containers will leave from Corinto and head to the west coast of the US.