Decaffeinated Colombian Espresso
Decaffeinated Colombian Popayan Filter
In the absence of good old El Carmen, (which will return soon) we have two new very decent decaffeinated coffees. If you want a quick summary, this Popayan is very clean and within a few points of El Carmen. The cup profile is similar as is the cost.
Top Trumps
Producer group: 65 Small (quality focussed) producers
Region: Popayan, Cauca
Country: Colombia
Altitude: 1500-2100 MASL
Varietals; Castillo and Caturra and Colombia.
Process: ethyl acetate decaffeination.
Roast: Medium Filter
Cup Potential. 🍜
Aromatics: Baked Apple| Body: Medium| Acidity Apple, Sweet Citrus|
On opening, there is a lively sweet acidity that greets you, in a very non-decaf way. I don’t know about you, but my first instinct is to hunt out any hint of “process flavour” in any decaf. There isn’t a hint. There is a simple baked apple acidity with a lingering caramel-esque finish. As the liquor cools there is a whiff of red fruits and a subtle citrus linger. the acidity softens, leaving this sweet, soft apple (coffee) juice.
Recipe:
60-65g a litre. I have enjoyed this (a lot) in cafetiere.
Coffee background
Popayán is located in the department of Cauca at 1,700 m.a.s.l. This region’s topography is perfect for growing exceptional coffee!
We (AKA Cofinet) collaborate with approximately 65 growers who contribute to this program and with whom we build long-term relationships. This program encourages farmers to focus on quality and based on quality assessment we provide up to 20% premiums above the market price.
The Decaf bit
This coffee is also processed using Ethyl Acetate, a chemical naturally occurring in sugar cane.
This method is where green coffee is put into large chambers, to remove the silver skin on the outer part of the coffee beans. The beans are then fully submerged in spring water and when fully submerged, are sent to the extractors where the beans have direct contact with ethyl acetate, to dissolve the caffeine. The genius part is that the decaffeinated coffee is dried in a chamber to restore its moisture content before decaffeination.
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