To ensure the coffee cherries are perfectly ripe, they are harvested by hand. After the coffee has been sorted by quality and then pulped to remove the skin and pulp, it is fermented in a tank for around 18 hours. This produces microorganisms that break down the sugar and pectin-rich layer surrounding the bean, giving the coffee additional complexity. The coffee is then washed and ready for drying.
Each farm in the association has an “Elba” where the coffee is laid out to dry. There it is exposed to direct sunlight and turned five times a day, usually in the morning hours when the sun is at its most intense. This allows the coffee to lose moisture as quickly as possible and is dried for between two to three weeks, depending on the weather conditions.
Finally, the coffee is decaffeinated directly in Colombia using the sugar cane process, which adds an additional step to the value chain in the country of origin.
SUGAR CANE PROCESS (EA)
The Sugar Cane Process is a natural decaffeination process named after the solvent used. Molasses from sugar cane is fermented into ethanol which is then mixed with acetic acid to produce the solvent ethyl acetate.
Coffee beans are soaked in near-boiling water for several hours, which opens the pores and allows the caffeine to be dissolved. The beans are then washed with ethyl acetate for about 10 hours, during which the solvent selectively binds with the caffeine molecules, and the resulting mixture is then heated to evaporate the solvent and caffeine.
As a last step, the beans are washed again to remove any solvent residue, dried and packed for transport.
behind the coffee