Galeras - Sugar Cane Decaf
Country: Colombia
Region:
Nariño
Process: Washed, Sugar Cane (EA Decaf)
Varietal: Caturra, Castillo
Altitude: 1850 m.a.s.l
Flavour Notes: Caramel | Milk Chocolate | Apple | Lemon
Brewing method: V60, Aeropress, Espresso
Farm Info
The town of Buesaco lies high on a ridge in the Andes Mountains of the Nariño department in Colombia. Promotora Cafe de Altura has its offices, cupping lab, and warehouses here, where the coop collects coffees from smallholders whose farms are tucked into the slopes surrounding the town. The cooperative works with more than 300 smallholders farmers all over the Nariño department who generally harvest coffee all year around. Here at the co-op’s facilities, lots are analyzed and purchased, and the farmers are paid premiums on top of the market price. These premiums incentivize high quality standards and good agricultural practices, like avoiding the usage of glyphosate and other chemicals.
Cooperativa de Cafés Especiales de Nariño cups coffees throughout harvest delivery to build lots that are uniform and consistent in bean size and cup profile. This decaffeinated coffee consists of small batches of beans from farms around the Galeras Volcano. This coffee was decaffeinated using the sugar cane process, also known as the Ethyl Acetate (EA) process, which are essentially the same.
Ethyl acetate is produced by esterification between ethyl alcohol, derived from the fermentation of sugar cane, and acetic acid. The green coffee is submerged in a wash of water and ethyl acetate, during which the ethyl acetate bonds with the caffeine in the coffee and begins to extract it from the green seeds. The EA solution is flushed, and the process is repeated until reaching a minimum decaffeination level of 97%. Finally, the green coffee is steamed to remove any remaining ethyl acetate from the seeds.
Nariño
Nariño is one of Colombia’s 32 Departments. It shares a southern border with Ecuador and is home to thousands of smallholder coffee producing families. Colombia’s three ranges of Andean mountains converge in Nariño, presenting ideal altitudes and fertile soil for high grown Arabica production.
Nariño’s geography and proximity to coastal and land borders have historically transformed it into a corridor for illicit trade routes, resulting in unwarranted violence against residents of remote mountain farms. Today, thanks to the particularly resilient and fearless spirit of Nariño’s farmers, the small region is a respected nucleus of coffee innovation.
Barista life
Baristas today have access to a wide variety of high quality, speciality coffee producers and can hone their craft with a great variety of brewing methods. Barista Life works closely with these producers to deliver the finest beans around and not only that, can provide essential training to you and your staff to ensure the perfect cup of coffee reaches your customer, every time.
Join Our Journey
To date our Head Barista Aron has made over a million of coffees during his time, that’s a lot right? His dedication and skill has benefited coffee shops around the E.U., Canada, New York & his home city London. In 2010 Aron started with a mobile espresso van which taught him just how difficult it can be to manage different bean densities in England’s inclement weather. Determined to master the art of consistency, he spent days testing coffees from around the world, roasting different blends to formulate a recipe that would deliver a consistent base flavour within a temperature range of -5’c to 35’c. Most coffee shops are fitted with air conditioning units which assist in maintaining that consistency, but without that luxury Aron’s understanding of the volatility of coffee grew considerably.
The business expanded in 2011 when both Aron and his wife, Clare, took on a failing coffee shop after the recession with aim to give it life. With previous experience in hospitality and business management, their dedication and hard graft paid off and The Espresso Lounge Tring is a successful coffee shop and cafe with several TripAdvisor awards and fantastic reviews.
They remain within this lucrative industry to date and can offer invaluable knowledge to new business start ups or those wishing to train their baristas to the highest possible standard. Barista equipment, coffee machines, sales training and business consultancy are all available through Barista Life and can set your business on the path to success.
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