Floats cherry in water so light material such as leaves, twigs and tree-dried fruit rises off while heavier cherry sinks.
Flotation sorting puts cherry in water and separates it by weight. Leaves, twigs, cherries that dried on the tree and some overripe fruit rise and are removed, while heavier cherry sinks. Because it sorts by weight rather than by ripeness, unripe cherries generally sink along with stones, so it is not a ripeness sort.
How it worksCherry is put in water and sorted by weight rather than by ripeness. Light material rises, including leaves, twigs, cherries that dried on the tree and some overripe fruit. Unripe cherries generally sink, along with stones.
Step by step
- 01
Cherry is put in water.
- 02
Floating light material is removed.
- 03
Sinking cherry goes on to further processing.
Field notes
- i
Flotation sorts by weight, not ripeness: the fruit that rises is mostly light material, and unripe cherries generally sink.
Our notes on Cherry Flotation Sorting are still being checked against their sources, so for now this page shows only the facts we can stand behind.
What can go wrong
- Sorts by weight rather than ripeness, and unripe cherries generally sink, so it does not remove underripe fruit.
Sources · 1 Every sentence here was checked against a source we read. Taste notes are what guides describe, not promises about your bag. Last revised 2026-09-30.
- Coffee processing · Wikimedia Foundation