Milling
Dry mill
Growing up on a coffee farm in Ywangan, and later through USAID’s VCRD training, I became aware that the value of coffee was reduced by poor milling. It was a clear gap in quality.
Even as a young child, producing green bean was not easy. Now with the CWS and milling machinery, I can upgrade the coffee and at the same time support better livelihoods and meet market specifications.
In 2017, I learnt milling and warehousing systems from VCRD in Ywangan. Warehousing is important, you need to be organized, order stock, track the coffee and how it is processed; keep the warehouse dry, free of pests, clean, and monitored. There is a lot involved in warehousing properly.
Now I mill our coffee and others’. Amayar mill is very clean, spacious, and light-filled. We pride ourselves on fast, friendly service, reliable and on time delivery, and meeting customer demands.
The milling machinery is very efficient and reliable in processing and grading coffee to meet market requirements. The factory is fully able to run off the power grid so I can process on a set date and time without any stoppage.
Prior to milling, we store the coffee to ensure a moisture range of 10–12%. After the sale contract, we start milling to ensure we deliver fresh coffee.
I have trained five full time workers to operate the mill step-by-step. We give 100% attention to care for the bean during hulling, sorting, bagging, and transport.
At the mill, the coffee is pre-cleaned, removing dust and impurities like husks, leaves and stones. Then its magnet and de-stoner starts the pre-cleaning process, to remove stones and magnet from the states of the dry pot and parchment.
Once hulled, a series of sieves of multiple gap size the coffee trapping the small and large beans. The coffee is then weighed by a gravity separator.
Grading specialty coffee
We grade on size fundo: 14, 15, 16, 17 and above by the machine. The fundo means the smallest pieces of coffee. The fundo is not included in coffee bean sizing. Sizes 15 and above are regular sale sizes. Size 14 is sold on the local market and fetches a low price.
There is no match for our incredible sorters who detect any abnormalities that can affect good coffee flavours, aromas, and tastes. We measure by the SCA defect handbook. First, the machine sorts and then we hand sort on request from customers.
Once the coffee is sorted and all the dry milling stages are over, we bag the coffee according to customer’s requests, including dual bagging:
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Pioneer bag (inner) + plastic polyethylene bag (outer) for parchment and dry cherry pod
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Grain pro/Ecotact (inner) + jute bag (outer) for specialty green coffee beans
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For local sales, we jute (with branding) and polypropylene bags (no branding) for cafes and restaurants. 50kg green bean quantities.
Warehouse
Our storage house is in our factory. The warehouse area is large: 6 x 7 x 18m, to ensure good ventilation. The warehouse is built with brick, alu-zinc for the roof and an iron door. We use traps to reduce the risk of pests.
Coffee bags are stored on palettes away from the wall to prevent any contamination with moisture. The warehouse stores green bean, as well as naturals and parchment, in preparation for milling.
All my processes are based on the latest information, and I am continually updating our operations on all aspects of coffee. I work with the farmers, engaging in every step of processing at the CWS and mill, as well as attending workshops, webinars, and trade shows, including World of Coffee, and the SCA Specialty Coffee Expo.
I am also an International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) member to help me keep on top of trends and meet buyers.
Our warehouse is:
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One-stop service
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Efficient
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Central to small processors and producers
