Decaf Colombia Caldas Co-op

This fantastic coffee is sourced from Sweet Maria’s/Coffee Shrub in Oakland, CA.

The farm notes from the importer are: This decaffeinated coffee comes from a cooperative in the Caldas region, about 100 miles West of the Colombia's capital city of Bogota. This particular cooperative have been working extensively in Caldas for more than 60 years, stretching out to 15 different growing areas where they provide agronomical assistance to coop members, and of course, purchase coffee. Like most of Colombia, the farmers process their own coffee down to the dried, green coffee that is still in its parchment layer. They then deliver the coffee to the cooperative where they receive a competitive base price. Coffee is grown between 1400 and 1600 meters above sea level. You see a lot of Catimor cultivar in this region, a cross of Caturra and Timor Hybrid, bred for high productivity and disease resistance. This lot was decaffeinated by Descafecol, in Tolima, who use sugar cane as one of their main sources for the naturally occurring chemical needed for the process (hence the nickname "sugarcane decaf", which is likely only one of the sources of EA). EA decafs often have an inherent fruity flavor note when roasted light, which I find to be a net positive, especially when the coffee sent off for decaffeination already has a high potential for sweetness.