Processing of Cloves

1. Introduction
Cloves (Eugenia Caryophyllus) are plantations that can reach heights of up to 20 meters. The young leaves are bright pink, then turn yellowish green after old, and become hard. What is taken from the clove plant is the flower, and the clove flower in groups ranging from three to ten stems, where each stalk contains three flowers.

2. Harvest
When the calix (outer part) of the flower changes from green to pink to yellow pink, and before the flowers bloom emit stamens, the clove flower must be harvested. The flower stalk group must be harvested together using hands. The destruction of small branches must be avoided to maintain the productivity of each plant during the following year's harvest season.

3. Drying
Flowers are released from the stem by hand. One hand holds the base of the flower stem while the other hand bends while slightly twisting so the flower is loose. Workers' hands and work space must be clean to maintain good quality. Flowers and stalks are separated, then the flowers are dried immediately, otherwise a fermentation process will occur which can reduce the quality of the cloves produced. Usually drying is done by drying, with clove flowers placed on a pandanus mat or on a shelf. The use of shelves in drying is better to produce uniformity in color and moisture content. Drainage usually takes four to five days. At the end of drying, the clove water content ranges from 8 to 10% with brown red. A bad drying process will produce cloves with pale brown color.

4. Cleaning
The dried clove flowers are cleaned of dust and other fine dirt by blowing in the cloves placed in the basket. Can also by dropping cloves from a certain height in the open so that the wind that blows will fly dust and fine dirt that attaches to the clove.

5. Usage
The main uses of clove are:
•	 To give a spicy aroma and flavor to Indonesian clove cigarettes.
•	To give aroma and flavor specifically to food and drink.
•	To produce essential oils that are widely used in pharmaceuticals and health.

6. Standards

International trade standards
Criteria						Limits
Water content,% (wet base)			<8
Foreign objects,% (heavy basis)			<1
Moldy flowers,%					<1