Resumo:
In the State of São Paulo, coffee cherries, after harvesting, are usually put to dry, in the open or are artificially dried until reaching a percentage of about 18% of water. With this humidity, the coffee husks can easily be broken by rubbing the dried cherries in the hand. This operation is done before the coffee is stored. In this paper, are presented some preliminary data about the feasibility of storage-of coffee with more than 18% of water. The results of the experiments have indicated: a) in the Campinas enrivonment, coffee can be stored with about 24% of water-without loosing color and cup-quality; b) the storage with 24% of water reduces by 20-30% the drying operation and permits better condition for more uniforme coffee drying inside the hopper (tulha). Attention has also been called for the difficulty of establishing a practical method for determination of the point when the coffee cherries attain this higher percentage of water.
