The Process Behind Cloves
1. Harvesting
When the calix (outer part) of the flower changes from green to pink to pink yellow, and before the flower blooms to release its stamens, the clove flowers must be harvested. Clusters of flower stalks should be harvested together by hand. Destruction of small branches should be avoided in order to maintain the productivity of each crop in the following year's harvest season.
2. Cleaning
The flowers are removed from the stems by hand. One hand holds the base of the flower stalk while the other hand bends while twisting slightly so that the flower falls off. Workers' hands and working space must be clean to maintain good quality. The flowers and stalks are separated, then the flowers are immediately dried, otherwise there will be a fermentation process which can reduce the quality of the cloves produced.
3. Drying
The use of shelves in drying is better to produce uniformity in color and moisture content. Drying usually takes four to five days. At the end of drying, the water content of the cloves ranges from 8 to 10% with a red brown color. Poor drying process will result in cloves with a pale brown color.
