Colombia Chambaku Decaf

• Country: Colombia
• Region:  Caldas
• Farm: Finca Chambakú
• Variety: Castillo, Caturra
• Processing:  Sugar Cane Process
• Altitude: 1400-1700 MASL

Roaster's story:

Finca Chambakú is one of the farms NOMAD collaborates with each year. And Felipe Restrepo brings us the new harvest of his delicious Chambakú Decaf for 2024. He tells us that during the second half of 2023, they revamped the entire process used for this coffee. They aimed to enhance moisture parameters, so they opted to mechanically dry the coffee in silos. This has resulted in greater stability, extended shelf life, and a more expressive cup.

For the decaffeination process, high-mountain spring water and ethyl acetate extracted from sugarcane molasses are used. It is a selective solvent for caffeine, which is naturally present (in yellow fruits like bananas). It has two significant drawbacks: it is highly flammable and has a characteristic odor at its base (sweet). Its treatment is therefore quite delicate, impacting production costs, and typically imparts a different aroma and slightly alters the taste of the coffee treated with this extraction blend. This decaffeination process ensures a minimum caffeine extraction of 97% and a maximum solvent residue of 20 PPM. The moisture content is 11%.