Coffee seeds, harvested at cherry stage, were mecanically hulled and submitted to six natural fermentation periods: 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours, to remove the mucilage. After the fermentation periods, the seeds were washed, dryed under shade conditions up to 13.0% humidity, placed in permeable package and stored in laboratory environmental conditions. Both seed germination and vigour were evaluated at the beginning and 3, 6 and 9 months of storage. The best fermentation periods was, approximately, 48 hours. More than 96 hours of fermentation period was harmful to seed quality, as to no fermentation at all.