Colombia Decaf

Our Decaffeinated coffee comes from the municipality of Pitalito, Huila. Home to experienced coffee growers, who in the last couple decades have greatly increased their production of speciality coffee, putting Huila on the map as the region with the highest coffee production by volume in Colombia and gaining Denomination of Origin.

This coffee is made up from a blend of Bourbon, Castillo, Caturra, Colombia, Maragogype and Tabi trees, hand-selected from several different Fincas. These varietals grew on slopping green hillsides, that sit at 1,500 m.a.s.l and ascend all the way up to 1,950 m.a.s.l.

In 2018 we paired up with Azahar, located in Bogota as an export partner. All of their decaf coffees are decaffeinated at the Descafecol plant in the city of Manizales. The decaffeination process utilised by Descafecol is a solvent-based process meaning that the caffeine is removed from the coffee beans using a solvent. Azahar works with Colombia’s best coffees and coffee farmers. They establish enduring relationships and pay higher, stable prices regardless of the market because good coffee farming should be profitable.

The decaffeination agent we use is called ethyl acetate (also known as ethyl alcohol) and is derived from a mix of acetic acid (vinegar) and a natural extract distilled from sugar cane, blackberries, beets or sometimes grapes.

We use a direct-solvent process meaning that first the beans are steamed to open their pores and are then rinsed in ethyl acetate repeatedly to remove the caffeine. Next, the beans are dried but not completely, 10- 12% humidity remains, and then the open bean is sealed with natural wax that in no way affects the flavour, fragrance or aroma of the coffee.

Before undergoing this process, the beans were treated to the beneficio or post-collection processing. After the cherries were carefully hand-selected for peak ripeness, they were brought in from the field, and left intact for anywhere from twelve to 24 hours, before being de-pulped, and fermented in tanks for 18 to 60 hours. The coffee was then washed and put on to dry on several different drying systems (raised beds, parabolic greenhouses and mechanical dryers or silos) for eleven to 20 days. The resulting cup has notes of toffee, dried red fruits, cashews, panela, chocolate and blackberries.