Colombia Decaf | Cauca, fully washed, sugar cane decaf*

Country: Colombia

Region: Cauca

Producers: regional smallholders

Taste notes - Tiramisu, red apples, caramel.

Sugar cane decaffeination method - a taste sensation that has amazed coffee lovers in recent years! The dessert-like sweetness of this decaffeination process is simply unmatched. "Chevere" takes its name from the Colombian Spanish word for "awesome" and lives up to it with its delicious flavor.

Extended story

The Cauca region, situated in the South-Western part of Colombia, is a coffee lover's dream. This area is home to over 90,000 families who cultivate around 93,000 hectares of Arabica coffee in small plots. The region boasts rich flora and fauna species that are found nowhere else in the world. The five major rivers of Colombia, combined with the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains, provide nutrient-rich volcanic soil and a perfect climate for coffee cultivation.

Our beloved sugar cane decaffeination process uses ethyl acetate (E.A.), an organic compound found in fruit juices, cereals, and sugar cane, as its main ingredient. This method starts with the fermentation of sugarcane molasses to produce ethanol. Ethanol is then combined with acetic acid to generate E.A., which is then used to decaffeinate coffee beans.

Before the decaffeination process, freshly picked coffee cherries are brought to the washing station. After the de-pulping process, coffee beans are washed in fresh, clean water before being subjected to the decaffeination process. This process involves steaming the green coffee beans for 30 minutes to unlock their pores, allowing caffeine extraction. The coffee is then placed in a solution of water and E.A. that bonds to the salts of chlorogenic acids, allowing caffeine extraction. This process continues for approximately 8 hours until the coffee is fully saturated. Once the last remaining caffeine is removed, the coffee is prepped for another steaming to remove remaining traces of E.A. The decaffeinated coffee is then dried, polished, and packed for export.

Cauca region

The Cauca region is located in the South-Western part of Colombia. Cauca coffee is grown in small plots by rural, indigenous and Afro-descendant communities in 34 municipalities, which house more than 90,000 families who grow approximately  93,000 hectares of Arabica coffee. 

This Colombian region is rich with flora and fauna species typical only for this region. It is fortified by waters from the five major rivers of Colombia and their basins. Climate benefits from the Pacific Ocean and high altitudes of the Andes mountains range, resulting in nutrient-rich volcanic soil. Cerro Napi, located 3,860 meters above the sea, is the highest point in the Serranía del Pinche, in the western mountain range of Colombia - Cauca.  All this combines in a terroir, providing superior conditions for coffee lots with the impressive diversity of flavour and aroma. 

Since 2011 the region of Cauca has been nominated - Denomination of Origin. This classification is used to legally protect products—in this case, coffee from the Cauca region. It encompasses the production area and the traditional methods used in it and guarantees a constant quality level and specific characteristics. It defines the coffee taste and flavour profile for this region. Coffees from the Cauca region mostly have a strong and caramelized fragrance and a balanced taste profile - a combination of acidic, floral notes and sweetness.

Variety

Colombian agronomists created the Castillo variety by improving and mutating Variedad Colombia—another popular coffee variety created in Colombia in the 1980s when the rust disease crisis occurred. Castillo is resistant to leaf rust, CBD (Coffee Berry Disease), and other coffee diseases still giving a high yield crop. In 2005 FNC introduced farmers of Colombia with Castillo within a project called - Colombia sin Roya (Colombia without Rust).This project aimed to recover and renew the production of high-quality coffee in Colombia. 

Nowadays, Castillo is the most commonly grown coffee plant in Colombia because of its plant benefits, taste profiles and subsidized seed pricing for farmers.

Sugarcane decaffeination process

The Colombian sugarcane decaffeination method is our favourite for many reasons, blissful taste notes and extra sweetness being just two of them. The main ingredient of this method- ethyl acetate (E.A.) is an organic compound naturally found in fruit juices, cereals and sugarcane. 

This process begins with the fermentation of molasses derived from sugarcane to create ethanol. Ethanol is an alcohol that is afterwards mixed with acetic acid (the main component of vinegar) to generate the E.A., which then is used in the decaffeination process.

Before the decaffeination process itself, Cauca smallholders bring their freshly picked coffee cherries to the washing station. After the mechanized de-pulping process, coffee beans are washed in fresh, clean water. Then they go through the decaffeination process, which goes by these steps: 

1. Green coffee beans are steamed for about 30 minutes before the decaffeination to unlock their pores, allowing caffeine extraction. 
2. Afterwards, coffee is placed in a solution of water and Ethyl Acetate (E.A.)-a naturally occurring compound and solvent derived through the fermentation of sugarcane.
3. Green coffee is submerged in the solvent, which naturally bonds to the salts of chlorogenic acids within the coffee, allowing the extraction of caffeine.
4. Once the coffee is saturated, the tank is drained, and a fresh solution is added. This process continues for approximately 8 hours. 
5. After the last remaining caffeine is gone, the coffee is removed from the solution and prepped for another steaming. 
6. The final, low pressure steaming removes the remaining traces of E.A. Decaffeinated coffee is then dried, physically polished to ensure cleanliness, packed and ready for export.