Peru: Apaylla DECAF

This coffee comes from the region which encompassed the inca territory, the region around Cusco. The plantations are situated beneath the snowy tops surrounding the Choqesafra valley in the Inkawasi district. Here the farmers follow in the footsteps of their ancesters whom cultivated the land with respect for their surroundings. The coffee is being cultivated in the shadows of the surroundings plants and trees. A lot of care also goes into the health of the soil and good irrigation techniques, so the coffee plants can thrive.

The cooperative encompasses 1000 members whom on average farm 1,5 hectares of coffee, with a productivity of 20qq / hectare. That's around 20 bags of green coffee per harvest. 80% of the coffee we consume is being sourced from such smallholders. With sales of their harvests they need to survive. That's why we don't buy through the Arabica stock exchange prices, which are very low, but source our beans from the farmer in cooporation with our partner, Falcon Coffees.

In each region the coop owns a centralised processing facility where the berries are being collected and processed. After that they go the a central warehouse where they are tested regarding physical and sensory quality by the team that takes care of quality control.

THE SPARKLING WATER DECAFFEINATION PROCESS:

This process was first discovered by a scientist called Kurt Zosel at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in 1967 as he was looking at new ways of separating mixtures of substances. In 1988, a German decaffeination company called CR3 developed this process for decaffeination whereby natural carbon dioxide (which comes from prehistoric underground lakes) is combined with water to create ‘sub-critical’ conditions which creates a highly solvent substance for caffeine in coffee. It is a gentle, natural and organically certified process. The good caffeine selectivity of the carbon dioxide guarantees a high retention level of other coffee components which contribute to taste and aroma. So the flavour of coffee remains the same. 

How does it work?

The green beans enter a ‘pre-treatment’ vessel where they are cleaned and moistened with water before being brought into contact with pressurised liquid carbon dioxide. When the green coffee beans absorb the water, they expand and the pores are opened resulting in the caffeine molecules becoming mobile. After the water has been added, the beans are then brought into contact with the pressurised liquid carbon dioxide which combines with the water to essentially form sparkling water. The carbon dioxide circulates through the beans and acts like a magnet, drawing out the mobile caffeine molecules. The sparkling water then enters an evaporator which precipitates the caffeine rich carbon dioxide out of the water. The now caffeine free water is pumped back into the vessel for a new cycle. This cycle is repeated until the required residual caffeine level is reached. Once this has happened, the circulation of carbon dioxide is stopped and the green beans are discharged into a drier. The decaffeinated coffee is then gently dried until it reaches its original moisture content, after which it is ready for roasting.

There are several benefits to using this process for decaffeination: 

• The agent used for extracting the caffeine is entirely natural and the process can be classified as ‘organic’ due to the complete lack of chemicals used throughout. There is also no health risk by consuming coffee that has been decaffeinated in this way.
• The way the process works means the other compounds in the green bean are left untouched, meaning decaffeination has no effect on the flavour and aroma of the finished product. The carbon dioxide is very selective and doesn’t extract the carbohydrates and proteins in the green bean which contribute to flavour and smell.
• The cell structure of the green bean and the finished roasted bean is unchanged which is of great advantage when working with speciality coffees.
• The by-products are 100% natural and recyclable.

Details:

• Variety: mixed varieties (blend), 100% Arabica
• Altitude: 1550 - 1800m
• Processing: decaf (sparkling water method)
• Notes: orange, dark chocolate, candy apple.
• Quantity: 250 gr or 500 gr beans.
• Our coffee bags are 100% recyclable, produced CO2-neutral and can be disposed of in the plastic waste (in Belgium: PMD-bag). Also check out our CoffeeVac containers, which we sell to shop without the use of packaging from us. When using this system (only possible for pick up- or personal delivery-orders), you save a discount per order.
• These beans are roasted on 100% green energy (solar and/or wind).

Foremost, we choose to supply beans. After 15 minutes the aromas of ground coffee are gone. We can grind on request, but it is not something we offer as standard. More info you can find on our blog!

On our website you can discover our range of manual and electric grinders .