Giling Basah

Giling Basah is a term used by Indonesian coffee processors to describe the method they use to remove the hulls of Coffea arabica. Literally translated from Bahasa Indonesia, the term means "wet grinding". Confusingly, the Arabica coffee industry also uses the terms "wet hulled", "semi washed" and semi dried" to describe the same process. [Specialty Coffee Association of Indonesia (2008) [http://www.sca-indo.org/diverse-coffees-indonesia/] Retrieved on 2008-08-08]

Most small-scale farmers in Sumatra, Sulawesi, Flores and Papua use Giling Basah. In this unique process, farmers remove the outer skin from the cherries mechanically, using locally built pulping machines, called “luwak”. The coffee beans, still coated with mucilage, are then stored for up to a day. Following this waiting period, the mucilage is washed off and the parchment coffee is partially dried for sale (to 30% to 35% moisture content).

Processors and collectors then hull the coffee in a semi-wet state, which gives the beans a unique bluish-green appearance. This method of coffee processing is thought reduce acidity and increase body, resulting in the classic Indonesian cup profile. [Marsh, T: "Review of the Aceh Coffee Industry", page 9. UNDP ERTR Livelihood Component, 2006]

The Giling Basah process can create a physical defect called a "goat's foot" in green coffee beans. Sometimes the hulling machine partially crushes a soft bean, giving the bean a shape that looks like a cloven hoof.

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