Colombia
EA Decaf Origin Select - Huila
Castillo, Caturra, Colombia Although this offering is not traceable to a specific variety, the most commonly grown coffee varieties in Colombia are Castillo, Caturra and the Colombia variety. This lot is representative of this blend of popular varieties, two of which (Castillo and Colombia) were developed by CENECAFE — the agronomical research arm of Colombia's FNC.
Ethyl acetate is an occurring ester (present in bananas and also as a by-product of fermented sugars) that is used as a solvent to bond with and remove caffeine from green coffee. First, the coffee is sorted and steamed for 30 minutes under low pressure in order to open the coffee seeds’ pores and prepare them for decaffeination. The coffee is placed in a solution of both water and ethyl acetate, where the E.A. will begin to bond with the salts of chlorogenic acids inside the seeds. The tank will be drained and re-filled over the course of eight hours until caffeine is no longer detected. The seeds are steamed once more to remove the ethyl acetate traces, though E.A. is only harmful to humans in very high quantities (400 parts per million or more). The coffee is then dried and polished for export.
