About this coffee

The Sugar Cane Decaf Process

Ethyl acetate is an natural occurring ester (present in bananas and also as a byproduct of fermented sugars, like sugarcane) 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.

In a country like Colombia, where sugarcane is readily available - and thus has a steady supply of the byproduct necessary for this decaffeination method - farmers can find a new way to add revenue and selling their byproducts.