Columbia Popayan Decaf Coffee

This Decaf Coffee is a premium decaf coffee, with a cupping score of 85. It is a naturally processed coffee produced by farms in the Popayan Region. The decaffeination process for this coffee is unique. The caffeine is extracted from the coffee using a natural by-product of sugar cane along with water. Not only does this process leave the coffee with more sweetness than other methods, but because it can be done in the growing region, this allows for the local supply chain to retain more value for the growing community. So a larger percentage of the cost of this decaf stays with the farmer compared to other decafs from Colombia. 
La Pradera is one of the farms of the Cofinet group. They emphasise working with woman owned farms, providing training and education the farmers, and water preservation initiatives. 

• choose a regular subscription or one-time buy
• choose a bag size
• choose whole bean or pre-ground

For Subscription Option

• 1 bag of coffee will be sent to the shipping address at each set time
• First bag ships when the order is placed
• Recurring shipments of coffee will continue to be sent at the chosen frequency
• Your first charge will be taken from your card when you place the order
• You will be reminded 3 days before reoccurring charges to your card
• Can be canceled anytime

Sugar Cane Decaffeination Process

The process is outlined below:

1. The green beans enter a ‘pre-treatment’ vessel where they are cleaned and moistened with water before being brought into contact with sugar cane extract. When the green coffee beans absorb the water, they expand and the pores are opened resulting in the caffeine molecules becoming mobile.
2. The sugar cane extract circulates through the beans and acts like a magnet, drawing out the mobile caffeine molecules.
3. The sugar cane extract mixed with water then enters an evaporator which precipitates the caffeine out of the solution. The now caffeine free water is pumped back into the vessel for a new cycle.
4. This cycle is repeated until the required residual caffeine level is reached. Once this has happened, the circulation is stopped and the green beans are discharged into a drier.
5. The decaffeinated coffee is then gently dried until it reaches its original moisture content, after which it is ready for roasting.

There are several benefits to using this process for decaffeination:

• The agent used for extracting the caffeine is entirely natural and the process can be classified as ‘organic’ due to the complete lack of chemicals used throughout. There is also no health risk by consuming coffee that has been decaffeinated in this way.
• Most decaffeination processes are done in a place like Germany or Canada which means the benefit of the value created leaves the region making very little profit for the farming community from coffee sold as decaf. However this method was done is the same region as the farmers so the value stays at the growing region making this a more ethically traded coffee.
  
• The cell structure of the green bean and the finished roasted bean is unchanged which is of great advantage when working with speciality coffees.
• The by-products are 100% natural and recyclable.