Coffee category: Bright
Process: Sugarcane Decaf
What to expect: A new addition to our lineup and a decaf like no other! Typically many decafs will lose their brighter more delicate tasting notes as a result of the decaffeination process however with advances in using EA, which comes from Sugarcane, this is no longer the case. Expect notes of green apple, raisin and caramel.
Sugarcane decaffeination utilizes a naturally occurring compound, ethyl acetate (EA) to decaffeinate coffee. The EA used in this process is derived from molasses, which is a by-product of sugar production, and this is then fermented to create ethanol. It is then combined with acetic acid (vinegar) to create ethyl acetate. Since EA is naturally-occurring, the process is labeled as “naturally decaffeinated".
The EA process for decaffeination is relatively simple. 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 the caffeine is no longer detected. The seeds are steamed once more to remove any remaining residue on the beans.
