Colombia El Buho Sugarcane Decaff

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What’s the story?

Another heavy unctuous espresso with layers of syrupy sweetness and pleasing soft background baked apple acidity…oh and it’s decaffeinated.

This decaf is from various farmers from the world renowned Huila and Tolima regions in South West Colombia, taking exceptional coffees and then using their own all natural decaffeination process that keeps the money in the local economy and all the flavour in the cup.

The decaffeination is done using natural solvent made up of a combination of a natural extract from sugar cane, beets, blackberries and vinegar. The beans are steamed, washed in the natural solvent to remove the caffeine then dried to 10-12% moisture, as they would have been before the process. 

Ethyl Acetate decaffeination – commonly called ‘sugarcane’ method – is a process which combines high mountain spring water and Ethyl Acetate (EA) of natural origin. EA is present in every coffee cherry in its natural state (as well as in many other fruits and vegetables). The natural EA is obtained from a sugar cane-based process and is, together with spring water, the only other element which comes into contact with the coffee. 

First the beans are steamed to open their pores, then they are rinsed with Ethyl-Acetate repeatedly to remove the caffeine. They are then dried to a 10-12% humidity and sealed with a natural wax which has a neutral profile which does not affect the flavour or aroma of the coffee.

This water-EA process allows for gentle extraction of the caffeine from the bean, avoiding excessive heat or pressure, maintaining the natural structure and all characteristics of the coffee bean.

What we then have is a beautiful decaff to roast, that releases its sweetness really easily, resulting in a coffee that is extremely satisfying to brew, deeply sweet like demerara sugar balanced with a soft baked apple acidity, and a delicious raisin note.  

It’s a perfect coffee for a late afternoon flat white or after dinner french press

Brewing Recipe