Pre-Drying Means Exactly What?

I saw this New York Times article, about how Folgers plans to "pre-dry" or "pre-roast" their beans in order to make them taste better, tucked in a drawer at the Beaumont location; one of the baristas had taken a moment to write "WTF?" in the margin.

For elucidation, I'll turn it over to someone quoted in the piece, Jim Trout, "innovation leader for research and development" at Folgers' parent company Proctor & Gamble:

“It’s like thawing a turkey before you cook it. If you don’t, the outside will be burnt and the inside will still be raw. This way it cooks evenly all the way through.”

I have never heard of wet beans. I mean, how would they be wet, unless they'd just come from the cherries, which I can assure you is not how Folgers receives them at their roasting facilities, or if the bags of green beans get wet. I mean, the beans have some level of moisture in them, and do lose a small percentage of their weight during roasting. But pre-drying? Anyone know what this means?