ccording to (1) the dry or (2) the wet method.

In the dry method the cherries are spread in a thin layer, often on a
stone drying floor, or barbecue, and exposed to the sun. Protection is
necessary against heavy dew or rain. The dried cherries can be stored
for any length of time, and later the dried pulp and the parchment are
removed, setting free the two beans contained in each cherry. This
primitive and simple method is employed in Arabia, in Brazil and other
countries. In Brazil it is giving place to the more modern method
described below.

In the wet, or as it is sometimes called, West Indian method, the
cherries are put in a tank of water. On large estates galvanized
spouting is often employed to convey the beans by the help of running
water from the fields to the tank. The mature cherries sink, and are
drawn off from the tank through pipes to the pulping machines. Here they
are subjected to the action of a roughened cylinder revolving closely
against a curved iron plate. The fleshy portion is reduced to a pulp,
and the mixture of pulp and liberated seeds (each still enclosed in its
parchment) is carried away to a second tank of water and stirred. The
light pulp is removed by a stream of water and the seeds allowed to
settle. Slight fermentation and subsequent washings, accompanied by
trampling with bare feet and stirring by rakes or special machinery,
result in the parchment coverings being left quite clean. The beans are
now dried on barbecues, in trays, &c., or by artificial heat if
climatic conditions render this necessary. Recent experiments in Porto
Rico tend to show that if the weather is unfavourable during the crop
period the pulped coffee can be allowed to remain moist and even to malt
or sprout without injury to the final value of the product when dried
later. The product is now in the state known as parchment coffee, and
may be exported. Before use, however, the parchment must be removed.
This may be done on the estate, at the port of shipment, or in the
country where imported. The coffee is thoroughly dried, the parchment
broken by a roller, and removed by winnowing. Further rubbing and
winnowing removes the silver skin, and the beans are left in the
condition of ordinary unroasted coffee. Grading into large, medium and
small beans, to secure the uniformity desirable in roasting, is effected
by the use of a cylindrical or other pattern sieve, along which the
beans are made to travel, encountering fi