Description
Region: La Honda, Cauca
Producer: Guillermo Hernan Hormaza Rey
Elevation: 1800 m.a.s.l
Arabica Varietals: Castillo
Process: Water-Natural Ethyl Acetate Decaf
In the cup: Orange, Raisin, Toffee, Raw Sugar and Chocolate
Producer Guillermo Hormaza and his wife Elsa inherited the family farm La Fantasia from Elsa’s parents, and they bought the remaining rights from her siblings to have sole ownership. For over 15 years, Guillermo and Elsa have cultivated coffee, but it has only been in the last few years that they have worked to produce specialty grade coffee. After noticing the price differences compared to the expenses involved in producing coffee, Guillermo found that La Fantasia’s harvests were unprofitable in the commodity market, and this sparked the need for change.
Since 2019, Guillermo and Elsa have worked exclusively with Project Origin. They have worked smart and hard to adjust their processing and harvesting techniques, such as only picking cherries when ripe, adjusting the soil fertilisation, and pulping on the same day as picking. These small differences have made big changes to their quality.
About the Water-Natural Ethyl Acetate Method
The Water-Natural Ethyl Acetate method of decaffeinating coffee beans utilises fresh spring water and Ethyl Acetate, which is a natural by-product of sugar cane and is sourced by the local sugar cane industry. In the natural environment, Ethyl Acetate is already present in coffee beans as well as many fruits and vegetables. In fact, a ripe banana contains 20 times more Ethyl Acetate than our Regional Decaf offering as green beans. Once coffee beans are roasted beyond 70oC, all residual Ethyl Acetate is evaporated.
The residual caffeine that remains following this decaffeination process is a maximum of 0.1% and the moisture content of the beans are restored to a maximum of 12%. The Water-Natural Ethyl Acetate process allows for a gentle caffeine extraction and avoids excessive heat and pressure, and this allows the coffee to retain the natural structure of the coffee bean cells.
Processing Details
o Cherries picked when ripe and purple
o Cherries are floated to separate low density cherries
o Whole cherries undergo a short fermentation at cool, controlled temperatures
o Drying on raised beds for 15-20 days in thin layers to enhance clarity
o Cherries finish drying process in Silo, a mechanical dryer, for 3-4 days
o Beans are delivered to Descafecol S.A. for the Water-Natural Ethyl Acetate
decaffeination process
o Moisture content is reduced to 10-12%
David Head (verified owner) –
This is indeed something special. I hand roasted just 100gm last night using a Dr Mahn Handy Roaster. It took 8 mins over a gas flame gently lifting the height of the pan after first crack. I am rewarded this morning with a lovely sweet and deeply fruity brew using a V60. Don’t miss this one! 5 stars from me!