Tasting Notes
FLAVOR: Warm Chocolate • Roasted Almond • Cane Sugar • Bright Citrus
BODY: Medium & Smooth
ACIDITY: Low to Medium
PROCESS: Washed • EA Sugarcane Decaffeination
Size: 12 oz
Roast: Dark
Origin: Valle del Cauca, Colombia
Elevation: 1,750 meters
Producers: Various Smallholders
Varieties: Caturra • Castillo
Origin Notes
Colombia Valle del Cauca | Sugarcane Decaf
Not all decaf coffee is created equal. This exceptional single-origin coffee from Colombia's Valle del Cauca proves that removing caffeine doesn't mean sacrificing flavor.
Grown at approximately 1,750 meters (5,740 feet) by various smallholder farmers, this coffee combines Caturra and Castillo varieties with traditional washed processing before undergoing Colombia's distinctive EA Sugarcane Decaffeination process.
The result is everything we want from a great Colombian coffee—warm chocolate, roasted almond, natural cane sugar sweetness, and just enough citrus brightness to keep the cup balanced.
Roasted in small batches at Hill Tree Roastery, it's a full-flavored coffee you can enjoy any time of day.
Valle del Cauca | Coffee From The Colombian Mountains
Valle del Cauca is one of Colombia's distinctive coffee-growing regions, located within a remarkably biodiverse mountain landscape.
This coffee is grown at approximately 1,750 meters, where cooler high-elevation conditions allow coffee cherries to mature more gradually. That slower development can contribute to greater density, sweetness, and complexity in the coffee.
The region is home to numerous smallholder farming families whose coffee production is closely connected to the surrounding landscape and natural resources.
Together, these producers create a coffee that reflects one of Colombia's greatest strengths: small farms producing distinctive coffees across an extraordinary range of mountain environments.
Various Smallholders | Coffee Built Around Family Farms
This Valle del Cauca coffee doesn't come from one large estate. It's produced by various smallholder farmers throughout the region.
Small farms are at the heart of Colombian coffee.
Individual families cultivate, harvest, and care for relatively small plots of land, with generations of experience influencing how coffee is grown and selected.
Bringing coffees from these producers together allows them to create consistent regional lots while providing access to the larger specialty coffee supply chain.
The result is a coffee that represents not just one farm, but a community of producers and the growing conditions they share.
Caturra & Castillo | Two Colombian Coffee Varieties
This coffee is produced from Caturra and Castillo, two important Arabica varieties grown throughout Colombia.
Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon and has become widely cultivated throughout Latin America. It's valued for its potential to produce sweet, balanced, high-quality coffees.
Castillo was developed in Colombia with greater resistance to coffee leaf rust while maintaining strong potential for cup quality.
Together, these varieties provide the foundation for the chocolate, almond, cane sugar, and citrus characteristics we experience in this Valle del Cauca coffee.
Washed Processing | Creating A Clean Foundation
Before the caffeine is removed, this coffee is washed processed.
During washed processing, the fruit surrounding the coffee seed is removed before the beans are dried. This generally produces a cleaner, more defined cup and allows the coffee's variety and growing environment to remain distinct.
That clean foundation becomes especially important with decaf.
Starting with quality coffee and careful processing gives the decaffeination process something worth preserving—which is one of the reasons this coffee tastes noticeably different from the flat, one-dimensional decafs many coffee drinkers have experienced.
Sugarcane Decaf | Removing Caffeine, Not Character
One of the reasons this coffee retains so much flavor is the way its caffeine is removed.
The Ethyl Acetate (EA) Sugarcane Process takes advantage of Colombia's abundant sugarcane industry. Ethyl acetate used in this process can be derived from fermented sugarcane.
The coffee is gently prepared so the EA can selectively remove caffeine while preserving much of the bean's original flavor and aroma.
The result is a coffee with approximately 97% of its caffeine removed while retaining the sweetness, body, and complexity that made the original coffee worth selecting in the first place.
For us, that's what great decaf should be: coffee chosen because it tastes good first—and happens to be decaffeinated second.
Colombia | A Country Built Around Coffee
Colombia's coffee heritage is built around hundreds of thousands of farming families cultivating coffee across the country's mountainous terrain.
Different elevations, soils, rainfall patterns, and microclimates allow individual regions to develop their own characteristics while still producing the balanced sweetness for which Colombian coffee has become known around the world.
That diversity also allows Colombia to produce coffee across multiple harvest periods, helping keep fresh coffee moving through the supply chain throughout much of the year.
Valle del Cauca contributes its own character to that tradition—combining high elevation, smallholder production, and generations of agricultural knowledge.
Why You'll Love This Coffee
If you've ever thought decaf means giving something up, this coffee was selected to challenge that assumption.
Warm chocolate creates a rich foundation, roasted almond adds depth, and natural cane sugar sweetness keeps the cup smooth and comforting. A touch of citrus provides just enough brightness to keep everything balanced.
Our dark roast develops additional richness and body while allowing the character of the original coffee to remain present.
It's an excellent choice for an evening cup, an after-dinner coffee, or anyone reducing caffeine without wanting to sacrifice the experience of drinking exceptional coffee.
In other words, you don't have to be a "decaf drinker" to enjoy this coffee.
You just have to enjoy good coffee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this coffee completely caffeine-free?
No decaffeinated coffee is completely caffeine-free. The EA Sugarcane Process removes approximately 97% of the caffeine, leaving only a small amount compared with traditionally caffeinated coffee.
What does "Sugarcane Decaf" mean?
Sugarcane Decaf refers to an Ethyl Acetate (EA) decaffeination process commonly associated with Colombia. Ethyl acetate can be derived from fermented sugarcane and is used to selectively remove caffeine while preserving much of the coffee's original flavor and aroma.
Is sugar added to the coffee during the decaf process?
No. Sugar isn't added to sweeten the coffee. "Sugarcane" refers to the source associated with producing the ethyl acetate used during decaffeination. The cane sugar tasting note describes sweetness we naturally experience in the finished coffee.
What are Caturra and Castillo?
Caturra and Castillo are Arabica coffee varieties. Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon widely grown throughout Latin America, while Castillo was developed in Colombia for improved disease resistance while maintaining good cup potential.
What's the best way to brew Colombia Valle del Cauca Decaf?
This coffee is extremely versatile. It performs beautifully in drip brewers, French press, pour-over, AeroPress, moka pot, and espresso machines.
Its chocolate, almond, and cane sugar characteristics also make it particularly enjoyable as espresso or in milk-based drinks.
And because it's decaf, it's a great coffee to experiment with later in the day—when another cup sounds good but another full dose of caffeine doesn't.
