Cordillera | Colombia | Decaf Filter

TL;DR: the best decaf you never wanted to drink, but we will keep buying it from a good source and roasting it with as much care as all of our other coffees.

 

This stunning decaf is sourced from a wide range of smallholder producers in the Planadas and Canon de las Hermosas regions of Colombia. Lots from individual growers are selected to ensure that this decaf stands on its own as a fantastic coffee.

 

Once the individual lots are selected they are blended, milled and then transported to DESCAFECOL where they undergo decaffeination via the "sugarcane/EA/Ethyl Acetate" process. This involves giving the coffee a good steam before plunging it into a bath of Ethyl Acetate and water.

 

Something to note, Ethyl Acetate might sound scary and like something you don't want near your coffee, but you can sleep well (get it?) knowing that it's a naturally derived solvent that comes from fermenting sugarcane.

 

We'll save you the chemistry lesson, but suffice to say that after an EA bath and a fresh water rinse cycle, the coffee is ready to be steamed one last time to remove the last of the EA, then dried and prepared for export.

 

The result is a sweet and juicy coffee, that maintains more of its original flavour, as well as some additional sweetness. It's a fantastic way to allow producers to sell more of their coffee, and it honestly tastes fantastic - not like the decaf we've been forced to drink for years!

We prefer our filter brews from a v60, but we won’t judge for use of anything at all to make yourself a coffee - even a (clean) sock.

 

Our recommended ratio when brewing filter coffee is 60g of coffee per litre of water. Simply scale this down, or up, for your desired size of brew.

 

With all methods, you’ll want: a grind size similar to granulated sugar, boiling water, and about 3 minutes of brewing time. This goes for v60, aeropress, plunger, and the (still hopefully clean) sock.

 

Our favourite recipe for v60:

• 20g of medium to coarsely ground coffee, it’ll feel a little like granulated sugar.
• Set your kettle to boil, and ready your socks to be rocked.
• We use a 60g bloom, with a swirl of the slurry to make sure it’s all wet. You can stir of that’s easier, just don’t rip the paper!
• After that, when your timer is at 45 seconds, add more water to a total of 200g, and swirl gently.
• Then finally at 1:15 on your timer, add the rest of your water, to 330g, and do one last little swirl.
• Wait till it drains through, roughly 3:30 is a good time, pour into your favourite mug, and let those socks be rocked.

 

If you’d like more info or tips, get in touch! hello@coreroasters.cc