Villamaría Decaf - Colombia - Natural, E.A. Decaf

Roast Level:

Recommended Brew Methods:

Producers: Small-holder producers in the Villamaría region

Mill/Cooperative: Jamaica Mill, Villamaria Red Assocation 

Region: Caldas, Colombia

Varietal: Castillo, Colombia

Processing: Natural, decaffeinated using E.A. method

Importer: Raw Material

Elevation: 2000 m.a.s.l.

Price Paid: €14,89 EUR / kg

FOB: USD 10.90/kg 

Tasting Notes: Genmai Tea, Malt, White Grape

As with all of our coffees, this decaf is something we’re really proud of! It tastes delicious and is produced with skill and care. It’s our aim to always provide a tasty decaf rich in flavour so no one misses out on a daily coffee ritual.

This decaf comes from the Villamaría Association in Colombia. We’ve been working with Villamaría since 2018, through our importing partners, Raw Material. Villamaría currently represents 30 coffee producing families in the surrounding area of Jamaica, Caldas. The region is fed by numerous sources of water and natural resources. It is located a few kilometres from the city of Manizales, whose urban areas are surrounded by the Chinchiná River. "Jamaica" - the Raw Materials drying station, is located in Chinchiná, Caldas. The station currently represents the harvests of 30 to 50 coffee producing families in the surrounding area of Villarazo, sitting at altitudes higher than the drying station itself. As Jamaica sits at a lower altitude of 1300 MASL, it is better suited to the processing of honey and natural coffee, due to the hotter temperatures.

This lot is sun dried before being transported to a local decaffeination facility in nearby Manizales. Decaffeinating coffees so close to where they were grown is a huge advantage for quality and it helps local communities increase the value of the product. It is common for coffees to be sent as far as the U.S. or Germany to be decaffeinated.

In Manizales, the beans are decaffeinated through a process known as the E.A method. This process starts by fermenting molasses derived from sugarcane to create ethanol. The ethanol is mixed with acetic acid to create ethyl acetate (EA). Sugarcane grows plentifully in this region and EA is used by local food and beverage industries. 

The coffee is steamed so that it becomes porous, before being washed with EA. This dissolves the caffeine. The beans are then washed and dried, leaving no caffeine and less residual traces of EA than in a banana!

All the flavour, zero anxiety - our Villamaría Decaf tastes like a delicious brew of Genmai tea (rice tea), with an overall malty mouthfeel and the sweetness and slight tang of white grape. It’s a mouthful of yum!