Coffee Processing

The question

How to approach this process diagram question

A process diagram shows how something is made or how a cycle works. Describe the stages in order, using sequence language and the passive voice.

1. Say what process the diagram shows and how many stages it has.
2. Overview: the number of stages, where it starts and ends, and whether it is a cycle or a straight line.
3. Describe every stage in order (First, Next, After that, Finally) mostly in the passive: the grain is crushed.
4. Do not add opinions or explain why; describe what happens.

How to plan this answer

Structure

1. Overview: state that coffee beans are processed in eight stages, from picking to packing, arranged in two rows.
2. Paragraph 2: describe the first four stages (picking, washing, pulping and fermenting), with the physical changes at each point.
3. Paragraph 3: describe the remaining four stages (drying, hulling, roasting and packing) and how the sequence moves down to the second row.
4. A closing line about the final stage of packing is enough.

Key features to spot

• Stage 1 is picking, shown as a branch with red and green berries, so the process begins with harvesting the fruit from the plant.
• Stage 2 is washing, where the berries are placed in a tank of water, which is shown with splashes around it.
• Stage 3 is pulping, where a machine with a hopper removes the outer fruit from the beans, which are then collected in a bowl.
• Stage 4 is fermenting, where the beans are left in a concrete tank of water for a period before the next stage.
• Stage 5 is drying, where the beans are spread on a raised wooden frame under the sun, and stage 6 is hulling, where a machine removes the outer husk.
• Stage 7 is roasting in a metal drum with a thermometer, and stage 8 is packing, where roasted beans are sealed in a green bag with a box beside it.

Useful vocabulary

• are picked from: The ripe berries are picked from the branches by hand.
• are washed in: The berries are washed in a tank of water.
• are pulped to: The berries are pulped to remove the outer fruit.
• are left to ferment: The beans are left to ferment in a tank for several days.
• are spread out to: The beans are spread out to dry on a raised frame.
• are hulled to: The dried beans are hulled to remove the husk.
• are roasted in: The beans are roasted in a metal drum until they darken.
• are sealed in: The roasted beans are sealed in bags for sale.
• is followed by: Pulping is followed by fermenting in a tank.
• the sequence moves to: After fermenting, the sequence moves to the drying stage in the second row.

Common mistakes

• Confusing pulping with washing, or saying the beans are washed after the roasting stage, which reverses the order shown.
• Describing the sun in the drying stage as a separate stage; it is a feature of the drying process, not a step of its own.
• Omitting the thermometer and the roasting drum detail, which gives the reader the clearest picture of the roasting stage.
• Treating the box and the bag in the packing stage as two separate products rather than the packed coffee.
• Stating that the process takes a particular number of days; the diagram gives no time periods, so none should be invented.

Examiner tip: Describe each machine or container by its shape and function, and use the passive for every action so the eight stages read as one logical sequence.