Decaf: Risaralda | Colombia

Key Origin Info:

Producer: Small-holder producers from the Risaralda area
Processed at: each farmer’s wet mill and consolidated in dried parchment stage in Santuario before being decaffeinated at a facility in Manizales

Region: Risaralda, Caldas department
Altitude: 1400 - 2100 masl

Variety: Mixed, mostly Caturra, Castillo & Colombia
Process: Washed processed and E.A. “Sugarcane” decaffeinated

Exporter: Raw Material | Importer: Raw Material

Cup profile: Creamy body, caramel & raisins

About Risaralda Decaf and the Asocafe Tatama Association:

This coffee is regional selection of combined lots from various growers based in the Risaralda area.

As Raw Material explain:

The Risaralda Regional Blend is a blend of coffees from Asocafe Tatama association in Santuario municipality in Caldas, Colombia. A regional blend means we can maximise the impact for producers across the area of Risaralda, by bringing much larger volumes of their coffee to the specialty market. The blend is brought together in Santuario, where the coffee from each region is blended and prepared for milling.

From time to time we also purchase coffee from other municipalities in Risaralda for this blend, such as Apía, Mistrato, Belén de Umbría, and Guatica. The Regional Blend is a great expression of the region as a whole, and a stable and consistent blend all year round. 

A first payment is received by producers on receiving parchment, followed by a second payment on export. Each producer receives a stable price for their harvest, making collaboration in the Risaralda Regional Blend a consistent and secure choice for many of the region’s producers. By supporting the Risaralda Regional Blend, you provide economic stability and a consistent market for the largest portion of these producer’s harvest.

More about the “Sugarcane” decaffeination process:

Also known as E.A. - “ethyl acetate” decaffeination is a natural process that not only maintains great integrity of green-coffee flavour, but also allows us to offer a decaffeinated coffee that best supports a vertical supply chain. This is due to the fact that the growing, processing, and even the full decaffeination process all happens at the source in Colombia, meaning all value added by these processes stays within the country of origin and its communities.

How does it work:

  1. The washed and dried green coffee is received at the decaffeination plant and it is steamed for approx. 30 minutes. A low-pressure steaming process opens the pores of the coffee, allowing for caffeine extraction.

  2. Coffee is placed in a solution of water and Ethyl Acetate (E.A.), a naturally occuring compound and solvent derived through the fermentation of sugarcane. While submerged in the solvent, E.A. naturally bonds to the salts of chlorogenic acids within the coffee, allowing for the extraction of caffeine.

  3. Once the solvent is saturated, the tank is drained and fresh solution is introduced. This continues for about 8 hours.

  4. After the last of the caffeine has been extracted, the coffee is removed from the solution and prepped for another steaming. The final low-pressure steaming removes the remaining traces of E.A.

  5. Decaffeinated coffee is then dried, physically polished to ensure cleanliness, and packaged for export.