Colombia Sugar Cane DECAF TUMBAGA '23

• Sweet and balanced cup
• Full bodied
• Chocolate notes

Farm: Group of farmers throughout Colombia

Processing: Washed

Altitude: Around 1700 masl

Importer: Sucafina Specialty

Rob Says: Sugar Cane decaf is the bench mark in decaffeinated coffee since 5 years. At Caffenation we can’t imagine a life without it. And meanwhile it’s 2023/24, the level of coffee harvesting in Colombia made big progress over the last couple of years and this we can taste in the TUMBAGA; our new crop decaf we recently bought at Sucafina Specialty Antwerp.

Sugarcane decaffeination utilizes a naturally occurring compound, ethyl acetate (EA) to decaffeinate coffee. The EA used in this process is derived from molasses (a byproduct of sugar production). Since  EA is naturally-occurring, the process is labeled as “naturally decaffeinated.” 

The EA process is relatively simple. The coffee beans are moistened with water and EA is circulated throughout. The EA binds with the caffeine in the bean and extracts the caffeine while leaving most of the other flavor compounds. After the desired caffeine level is reached, the EA residue on the beans is removed by steaming them.