WET PROCESS / WASHED COFFEE PROCESSING After pulping, which is the process of removing the outer skin of the coffee cherry to expose the beans, the coffee beans are placed in fermentation tanks. During fermentation, the sticky mucilage covering the beans naturally breaks down. Once this is done, the beans are released into the washing channels. In the channels, the beans sort themselves naturally. The light beans float to the top; these are usually underdeveloped, damaged, or hollow. The heavy b