Coffee Process | Davien

Coffee process overview

Coffee processes, made clear.

This page gives a clear overview of the main coffee processes. It is built for sharing with partners, buyers, or product teams: green coffee, roasting, packaging, spray drying, and freeze drying.

Davien process

No need to over-explain.

The point is simple: every coffee batch needs control from raw material, processing, roasting, degassing, and packaging to the finished product.

05 main process groups
02 green coffee process styles
03 common finished formats

01 / Green coffee

Green coffee: Natural and Honey.

This is the first base of the product. Robusta and Arabica can follow either natural or honey processing, depending on flavor target, sweetness, body, and market direction.

Natural process

Natural processing for Robusta and Arabica

Coffee cherries are cleaned, then dried as whole fruit. The cup is usually bolder, fruitier, sweeter, and fuller in body. The key is controlling drying thickness, moisture, and natural fermentation.

  1. 1Harvest ripe cherries and remove green or defective fruit.
  2. 2Wash, remove foreign matter, and sort by ripeness.
  3. 3Dry whole cherries on patios, mesh, or raised beds.
  4. 4Turn regularly to avoid over-fermentation and mold.
  5. 5Reduce moisture to a safe level, rest, hull, and sort.
Honey process

Honey processing for Robusta and Arabica

The outer skin is removed, while part of the mucilage remains during drying. This creates clearer sweetness than washed-style coffees, a cleaner cup than natural, and a soft, rounded body.

  1. 1Select evenly ripe cherries, then wash and sort.
  2. 2Remove the skin and keep mucilage based on the flavor target.
  3. 3Dry in thin layers on raised beds or clean patios.
  4. 4Control stickiness, moisture, and drying speed.
  5. 5Rest, hull, screen, sort, and pack as green coffee.

Robusta usually brings stronger body, clearer aftertaste, and high product versatility. Arabica usually brings cleaner aromatics, brighter acidity, and fits products that need a more delicate profile.

02 / Roasted coffee

Roasted coffee starts with green bean selection.

Roasting is not just putting beans into a machine. Before roasting, green coffee needs to be evaluated to understand where it fits: espresso, filter, blends, milk coffee, or retail products.

Green bean selection and roasting process

1. Receive sample Check origin, lot information, moisture, and specifications.
2. Screen and sort Remove defects, stones, foreign matter, black beans, broken beans, or weak beans.
3. Sample roast Roast a sample to read aroma, flavor, body, aftertaste, and defects.
4. Choose profile Define light, medium, medium dark, or dark roast based on the product.
5. Production roast Control temperature, time, development, and bean color.
6. Post-roast check Cup, check roast color, uniformity, and stability before packaging.

03 / Packaging

Degas, add nitrogen, then pack.

After roasting, coffee needs time to release CO2. If it is packed too early, or gas is not controlled, packaging may swell, aroma may become less stable, and shelf life can be affected.

Whole bean

Whole bean packaging

  1. 1Cool after roasting and remove broken or defective beans if needed.
  2. 2Degas based on roast profile and shelf-life target.
  3. 3Weigh into 100g, 250g, 500g, 1kg, or custom pack sizes.
  4. 4Flush with nitrogen to reduce oxygen and preserve aroma.
  5. 5Seal, check for leaks, apply labels, and carton pack.
Ground coffee

Ground coffee packaging

  1. 1Roast and degas before grinding to the required size.
  2. 2Grind for phin, espresso, moka pot, drip, or cold brew.
  3. 3Sieve or check grind-size consistency.
  4. 4Flush with nitrogen after degassing to reduce oxygen inside the pack.
  5. 5Pack, seal, check weight, and mark batch code.

Ground coffee has more surface contact with oxygen than whole beans, so degassing, nitrogen flushing, and seal integrity are even more important.

04 / Instant coffee

The process for spray dried coffee.

Spray drying works well when the goal is good volume, reasonable cost, and high production speed. Flavor needs to be controlled from extraction through soluble-solids standardization.

1. Select coffee Choose Robusta, Arabica, or a blend based on the flavor target.
2. Roast Roast to a profile suitable for soluble coffee extraction.
3. Grind Grind roasted beans to the size required by the extraction system.
4. Extract Use hot water and pressure to extract soluble coffee solids.
5. Concentrate Adjust coffee extract concentration before drying.
6. Spray dry Atomize coffee extract into hot air to create instant coffee powder.

Spray dried coffee is usually a fine powder, dissolves quickly, and works well for 2-in-1, 3-in-1, premix, vending, or industrial ingredient applications.

05 / Freeze dried coffee

The process for freeze dried coffee.

Freeze drying preserves aroma better and gives a more premium instant coffee format. The process is slower and more expensive, but it suits products that need cleaner flavor and higher value.

Freeze drying flow

Main steps

  1. 1Select and roast coffee for extraction.
  2. 2Grind and extract to create concentrated coffee extract.
  3. 3Concentrate the extract to the target solids level.
  4. 4Freeze quickly to create a stable ice structure.
  5. 5Sublimate water under vacuum through freeze drying.
  6. 6Granulate, screen, check moisture, and pack.
Result

When should you choose freeze drying?

Choose freeze drying when you want better aroma, cleaner flavor, more attractive granules, and a more premium instant coffee for retail or higher-value export.

Criteria
Spray dried
Freeze dried
Cost
Better for high-volume production
Higher
Flavor
Stable and easy to apply
Preserves aroma better
Appearance
Fine powder
Porous granules, attractive, dissolves well