Every step of coffee processing is important, from growing coffee all the way to shipping it, but particular care must be paid to the drying stage. Wet coffee is a notoriously finicky beast, apt to quickly develop sour, fermented flavours if not quickly and uniformly dried.
At Hacienda La Esmeralda, this task is accomplished with a combination of traditional patio drying and electric Guardiola driers. Which technique gets used depends on the specific coffee being dried, how much space is available on patios and in driers, and what the weather is like during drying.