Decaf has really been making some exciting steps in the right direction. A few years ago, if you ordered a decaf, you had to either be pregnant or have some medical condition. Now, it’s almost en vogue to drink a tasty decaf at the end of the day instead of loading up on more caffeine. Decafs have, over the years, really improved in quality so remarkedly that you can now choose between many different origins and decaf processes. From Swiss Water to sugar cane, there are lots of options out there with some more effective at preserving the coffee’s original flavour profile than others.
After a hugely successful first launch with our first selection of decafs from Man Met Bril in our June 2024 box, we’re now excited to bring you our second pick. This time, a super juicy and delicious coffee from Argelia in Colombia that was processed using the sugar cane decaf process and that will be roasted for us by our friends from Five Ways Coffee in Amsterdam.
I have been a huge fan of Five Ways and friends with co-founder Ben Kozica-O’Callaghan for years. When they were first featured in a our regular Coffeevine box, their exceptional natural processed Ethiopian coffee was one of the highest rated coffees that year. At the time, the guys were still roasting their coffees in a co-roasting space just opposite our warehouse but a few months ago, they moved into their own roastery just a two minute drive from us. There, they are working with a brand new Loring S-35 roaster that really helps to bring out all of the delicious flavours in coffees like this one.
The coffee that we picked is a washed Colombian coffee that consists of a blend of Castillo, Caturra, Catimor and Typica varieties. The sugar cane process can be explained as a natural way to remove the caffeine in coffee. The way this is done is to first produce sugar cane molasses (basically a thick syrup), which has a by product called ethyl acetate. This is also commonly found in wine and bananas. Then, you steam the green coffee beans and moisten them to ensure they open their pores and swell in size. Then you bathe the coffee in the ethyl acetate to remove and dissolve the caffeine.
This process is known to be one of the most gentle, especially when it comes to keeping the coffees original flavour profile in tact. What you get is a super sweet, juicy and vibrant cup that many people are unable to tell apart from a regular caffeine coffee. This makes decaf so exciting! Plus, the decaffeination process happens in Colombia, thereby reducing extra travel to facilities in other parts of the world where this can be done.
Make this coffee your evening buddy when you are done drinking regular coffee but you still fancy a good old cuppa Joe without the side effects.
To receive this excellent coffee, order our decaf one-off box from our shop now.
Pre-orders close on 15.07.2024 / Ships globally on 22.07.2024