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Coffee Glossary · Processing

Wet Mill vs Dry Mill

Coffee's two processing stages, often in different places: the wet mill (washing station) handles fresh cherry — pulping, fermenting, washing, drying — producing stable parchment; the dry mill takes rested parchment to export green — hulling, size and density grading, color sorting, hand-picking, and bagging. Wet milling must happen within hours of harvest at origin-region altitude; dry milling can wait months and often sits near ports or trade hubs. Quality is made at the wet mill and protected at the dry mill.

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