Tasting notes

Origin Information

Country : Colombia

Farm : Elias Roa Parra

Process : EA Decaf

Variety : Colombia

Elevation : 1650 MASL

Region : Acevedo, Huila

Growth story

Elias Roa is a legendary producer in Huila, Colombia with farms in the subregions of Pital and Acevedo. He was one of the founding members and President of Asociación Primaveral in Acevedo.

The Acevedo area is a truly stunning landscape in the heart of the Macizo Colombiano. It is typical to see large rain clouds rolling in over the mountains, covering the farm for periods of the day. 

These farms are a family affair. His wife Bellanid, son-in-law Diego Campos (Colombian Barista Champion), and daughter Derlin are all involved in coffee production here. 

Elias has two primary farms, Finca Tamana in Pital and Finca Recuerdo in Acevedo. They are planted with many different heirloom varieties, including some with African lineage. On both farms, Elias utilizes dry fermentation for roughly 14-16 hours, followed by several washes with fresh water. The coffee is then transferred to raised beds for slow, meticulous drying. 

The Decaf Process

Ethyl acetate is an occurring ester (present in bananas and also as a by-product of fermented sugars) that is 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 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.