Decaf Colombia

Every time we have placed our decaf on the tasting table for our double-blind cupping class, it has always gotten high praise for its quality and tasting notes- often placing within the top three of the night and shocking participants when revealed to be decaf.  

Our decaf is set apart by its processing and decaffination method. The washed process cleans off the coffee cherry without destroying the integrity of the bean inside. The beans are steamed for 30 minutes under low pressure to open the coffee seeds' pores. Then, the beans are placed in a tank of ethyl acetate (a naturally occurring ester found in bananas and is a by-product of fermented sugars) and water, where the EA bonds to the chlorogenic acids within the seeds.  The tank is drained and refilled until caffeine is no longer detected.  The beans are steamed again to clean them, then dried and prepared for export.  

The EA method is also called the "sugar cane process" and imparts a honey-like sweetness to the beans with very little bitterness or low quality notes often associated with decaffeinated coffee. 

We roast our decaf to a medium roast to highlight the sweeter notes that benefit from the longer caramelization within the roaster.  This decaf creates a sweet, smooth tasting coffee that can be enjoyed using any brewing method.  We use it in our cafe on pour over and as an espresso option.