PERU Apaylla - decaffeinated

Product detailed description

Region: Incauasi valley, Cusco
Farm: Apaylla
Altitude: 1550-1800 meters above sea level
Caffeine removal method: Sparkling water method

These coffees originate from what was once the Inca empire in Peru from the region of Cusco. The coffee plantations are located under the snowy Choqesafra valley of the Inkawasi district. Here the indigenous farmers follow in the footsteps of their ancestors working in harmony with the environment and mother earth. The coffees are grown under shade covering with close attention paid to the health of the soils and irrigation to help the coffee trees thrive.

Together the group encompasses 1000 members who on average handle 1.50 hectares of coffee, with a productivity of 20qq /hectare. This equates to about 20 bags of green coffee per farm each harvest. The quality of the coffees from this region is well known and in 2020 one of their producers from Incahuasi placed 1st in the Cup of Excellence with a washed geisha lot. They also had two more producers in the top 10 this year as well.

In each area there is a centralized processing plant where cherry coffee is collected in addition to pulping, fermentation, washing, drying and temporary storage, to later be transferred to the central warehouse, where sampling and physical and sensory evaluation are carried out by the quality analyst.

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 and the good caffeine selectivity of the carbon dioxide guarantees a high retention level of other coffee components which contribute to taste and aroma.

The process is outlined below:

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 flavor and smell.
• The cell structure of the green bean and the finished roasted bean is unchanged which is of great advantage when working with specialty coffees.
• The by-products are 100% natural and recyclable.

We roast 3 times a week, so your coffee always arrives freshly roasted. We have been roasting our own coffee since 2019 in Silůvky in southern Moravia.