Colombia - Sugar Cane Decaf

Processing: Sugar Cane Process
Variety: Castillo, Caturra
Altitude: 1800-1950 MASL
Tasting Notes: Chocolate, Biscuits, Raisins
Cupping Score: 85

Acidity:  ⬛⬛⬜⬜⬜
Sweetness:  ⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜
Body:         ⬛⬛⬜⬜⬜

Origin

Coffee production is concentrated in the mountains surrounding Popayan, the region's capital. The high plateaus of Cauca are ideal for coffee production thanks to their rich volcanic soils and stable year-round climate. The high elevations of the surrounding mountains and the region's proximity to Ecuador protect the coffee from Pacific humidity and southern trade winds.

The Cauca region is a leader in producing the highest-quality coffee. Thanks to its climate, varied topography shaped by the mountain ranges that cross it, and the tradition and passion of its people, it is the country's fourth-largest coffee producer. It ranks first in the number of coffee-growing families, with more than 93,000 families cultivating 94,500 hectares of Arabica varieties (Castillo, Colombia, Caturra, Típica, Borbón, and Tabí) across 34 municipalities.

Processing

This decaffeination process is unique. Caffeine is extracted using sugarcane and water, enhancing sweetness while preserving the coffee's attributes.

The green beans are placed in a steam chamber, where the silver skin (chaff) is removed from the beans. After that, the beans are immersed in spring water, and as soon as the coffee is saturated with water, it is sent to extraction tanks, where the beans come into direct contact with ethyl acetate from sugarcane for 8 hours, dissolving the caffeine content.

The decaffeinated coffee is then dried in a special chamber to reach the same moisture content it had before processing.