Colombia | Aromas Del Sur | Decaf

About the Coffee

Tasting Notes   ·   Cacao Nibs, Black Cherry, Cashew

Producer   ·   Palmera/Samaria

Farm   ·   Smallholder

Altitude   ·   1500m

Variety   ·   Caturra/Colombia/Castillo

Process   ·   Washed - Sugarcane Process Decaf

This coffee is grown at Finca Samaria with a focus on cup consistency. It is decaffeinated by the local company Descafecol, in the town of Palmira, Valle de Cauca, using the Ethyl Acetate (EA) process. This decaffeination method has a positive impact on both the environment and the local economy.  The carbon footprint is greatly reduced by decaffeinating at origin rather than shipping tons of coffee to a decaffeinating facility on another continent. Descafecol is also able to create jobs in the local Colombian economy by keeping this process at origin.

The ethyl acetate used by Descafecol is produced by sugarcane grown locally in Palmira. Sugarcane grows at lower elevations than coffee and is often planted at the base of the same mountains where coffee flourishes. Ethyl acetate and spring water are the only substances coffee comes into contact with during the decaffeination process. This process is FDA approved and the ethyl acetate produced by Sucroal is verified food grade, kosher, and halal.

Ethyl acetate is a natural solvent, meaning it can dissolve other substances. The EA process gently extracts the caffeine from raw, green coffee, avoiding the use of excessive heat that could damage the structure of the coffee. This produces a decaffeinated coffee with all the complex cup characteristics one would expect from its fully caffeinated counterpart.