Decaf - Colombia Atunkaa

The Atunkaa ACC Co-op (Asociación de Caficultores del Centro del Cauca por la Paz) is a non-profit organisation that was created in 2016 in Piendamó, Cauca. The 77 associates each have an average of 1.5 hectares of land that range between 1,700 and 2,100 metres above sea level. The purpose of the association is to improve quality, from the crop right through to the processing and sale of the coffee, with the knowledge that improving these aspects will have a social impact on the region; improving the wellbeing of the community, taking care of the environment, and helping to establish peace in this historically troubled place. 

The association helps members with commercial strategies and crop related technology and every member decides how to process his own coffee with innovative fermentations. The  cherries are hand picked then pulped and fermented for 48 hours in a tank. The coffee is then washed and cleaned before being dried in a parabolic tent for 7–10 days depending on the weather.

Washed Process, Sugarcane Decaf
Sugarcane decaffeination is often termed as a natural process decaf. The plant we work with in Colombia uses water from the Navado del Ruis (a volcano between Caldas and Tolima) and natural ethyl acetate from fermented sugarcane sourced in the southern region of Palmira, Colombia. Ethyl Acetate is an organically existing compound (C4H8O2) and by-product found most commonly in the fermentation of fruits, and is present in both ripe bananas and beer for example.

The process begins with steaming of the coffee, increasing its porosity, beginning the hydrolysis of caffeine, which is usually bonded. The beans are then submerged in an ethyl acetate solvent, until 97% of the caffeine is removed. A final steam is then used to lift residual traces of the compound. The ultimate residue which remains is ≥ 30 ppm, which is a level dramatically less than that of a banana!

Espresso Recipe: 

Dose: 18g

Yield: 32ml

Time: 31 seconds