Colombia, Divino Niño - Decaf

Producer: Cooperativa Divino Niño del Horizonte & ASOCAFOR

Farm: 50+ Farming Families

Country: Colombia

Region: Suaza

Elevation: 1300-1750 MASL

Varietal: Caturra, Castillo, Colombia

Process: Ethyl Acetate Decaf

Taste: Cherry, Caramel, Chocolate

Osito, our sourcing partner in Colombia, has been working with a group colloqiually known as Divino Niño since day one. Since its inception, the group has grown from 25 producers to over 50. At the helm are Edilma Polania Bermeo, Adrian Bocanegra and Mario Salazar, maintaining organisation and facilitating meaningful growth.

Osito founded its annual cup competition with Divino Niño called the Copa Suaceña. It is through this competition they have found many great single farm microlots and also how they discover new producers which they feel have high potential.

Ethyl Acetate Decaffeination Process

Ethyl Acetate, a naturally occurring ester (present in bananas as well as a by-product of fermented sugars) can be isolated and 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 the 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.