Villamaria Decaf

Taste Notes: Mandarin Oranges first, then Black Grapes, and a Shortbread finish.

Origin: Colombia

Process: Natural, (Sugarcane Processed Decaf)

Varieties: Colombia & Castillo

Importer: Raw Material

Harvest: 2021

FOB: $10.90/kg

Per-Kilogram green price: 8.23

Amount purchased: 175kg

The EA process or Sugarcane process comes from Ethyl-Acetate, a solvent derived from Sugarcane. When Ethyl Acetate is used in adequate quantities it acts as an excellent selective removing agent of caffeine.
The process takes place at Descafecol in Manizales, Colombia. This keeps more of the price paid for the coffee within the producing country and cuts down on the coffee’s carbon footprint.

A full breakdown on the stages the coffee goes through for decaffeination can be found here.

Villamaría is a Colombian municipality located in the department of Caldas, next to Neira, Palestina, Chinchina and Manizales, which make up the South Central sub-region of the department.

The region is fed by numerous sources of water and natural resources.

Villamaría is located a few kilometres from the city of Manizales, whose urban areas are surrounded by the Chinchiná River. Villamaría, situated not far from El Fénix, Raw Material’s community wet mill and farm, is the drying station in Chinchiná, Caldas.

The station currently represents the harvests of 30 coffee producing families in the surrounding area of Jamaica in the area of Villarazo, sitting at altitudes higher than the drying station itself. As Villamaría sits at a lower altitude, it is better suited to the processing of honey and natural coffees due to the hotter temperatures found here.

This station is focussed namely on the production of honey and natural lots, with the aid of Nuna dehydrator systems, controlling humidity and temperature throughout the drying process. The station processes coffee from 30 producers, 300 metres further up the mountainside.