Country: Colombia
Varietal: Castilla, Colombia, Caturra
Process: Washed - Decaffeinated
Altitude: 1,700 above sea level
Flavours: Almond, Stone Fruit, Honey
So we have finally got our hands on a great decaf green bean to roast. We are now a devoted coffee loving nation and those who simply love all the taste of coffee, but prefer to lower their caffeine intake can have it all!
The process is a simple yet fascinating one and we're going to attempt to explain the process of coffee decaffeination and how this particular lot is processed.
In this instance, the process of decaffeinating is as natural a process as it can get. Sugar cane ethyl acetate (EA) processing, starts by fermenting molasses derived from sugar cane to create ethanol, technically alcohol. This alcohol is the mixed with acetic acid to create the compound ethyl acetate (EA).
Colombia is rich is sugar cane and readily available, therefore it makes perfect sense to use this plentiful resource to enhance the decaf process.
When the coffee is first received from the farm, it is introduced to a condition of water and steam, which elevates moisture and swells and almost opens the bean to receive the wash of the EA. The EA helps to dissolve the caffeine. The beans are then cleaned further with additional water, followed again by steam to clean the most inner parts of the bean.
Finally the beans are dried until reaching the moisture similar to which they had prior to the process.