Mexican Finca Azul GWP Decaf - Single Origin Coffee

Tasting Notes: Glace cherry, tropical fruit, cocoa, toffee, granola, molasses, and nuttiness.  Full flavoured & full bodied with mild acidity. A balanced coffee with a sweet clean aftertaste, reflecting a high-quality decaffeinated specialty coffee

Q Score: 83

Roast Level: Medium-Dark - brings out more of the richness of this coffee

Process: Washed 

Region: Mexico, Chiapas Region - Chiapas is a southern Mexican state bordering Guatemala. It is an area of mountainous highlands and dense rainforest. This coffee is from the Finca Monte Azul farm in Huatusco, Veracruz – an area renowned for producing some of Mexico’s finest specialty coffee.

MASL: 1200-1800m

Varietal: Caturra, Typica and Catuai

Decaffeination: Glacier Water Process (GWP)

This green coffee is processed through the Glacier Water Process which uses a chemical-free method of decaffeination. Glacier water sourced from the Sierra de Chiapas mountains is pressurised into steam, causing green coffee to swell, making their cell walls permeable for the extraction of all water solubles - including caffeine. The trick to retaining maximum flavour compounds in the batch of coffee being treated is to soak the coffee in a solution that has already been saturated with all the potential coffee solubles after the caffeine of that solution has gently been removed. An elaborate charcoal filtration system is used for this separation, so that caffeine can be sold to energy drink manufacturers, leaving a flavour charged solution that only has space for taking on caffeine compounds from the next batch of beans.

The decaffeinated coffee is dried in three phases - horizontal and vertical drying to bring the coffee to 10-13% moisture, followed by the final cylindrical drying to ensure a stable water activity and quality shelf life. Further grading and polishing take place prior to export. The result is a flavourful decaf, retaining the qualities nurtured by Chiapas smallholders, that is 99.9% caffeine-free, using zero nasty chemicals.