EPISODE 7 — QUALITY BEGINS WITH RIPENESS

QUALITY BEGINS WITH RIPENESS One of the most important decisions affecting coffee quality happens before processing even begins. It happens during harvesting. Coffee cherries growing on the same tree do not always ripen at the same time. Some may still be green, while others are fully ripe, overripe, or already drying on the branch. Selective hand-picking allows workers to choose cherries at the desired stage of ripeness. But this requires more labour, skill, time, and cost—and often several passes through the same farm. Mechanical or strip harvesting can be more efficient in suitable farming systems. But without careful planning and sorting, the harvest may contain cherries at different maturity levels. Why does this matter? Because an unripe cherry is chemically different from a ripe one. Overripe and dried cherries behave differently again. These differences can influence sugar development, acidity, fermentation behaviour, consistency, and the risk of undesirable flavours or physical defects. Ripeness does not determine quality alone. Variety, environment, processing, drying, storage, roasting, and brewing still matter. But harvesting establishes the raw material with which every later stage must work. There is also a human question that cannot be separated from quality. Who picked these cherries? Were the workers properly trained? Were they provided with safe working conditions? How were they paid? And did the price paid for the coffee support the additional labour required for selective harvesting? We cannot demand perfectly ripe cherries while ignoring the people responsible for selecting them. Quality and sustainability meet at the farm. But both must be recognized and supported by value throughout the supply chain—from producer and processor to exporter, importer, roaster, café, and consumer. The more I learn about coffee quality, the more I understand that it cannot be measured only in the cup. True quality must also include human dignity.