Risaralda Decaf — Colombia

Plum and marshmallow first, then almond, milk chocolate and nougat. The sugar-cane process takes out 97% of the caffeine and leaves the sweetness alone, so this drinks like a soft washed Colombian rather than a compromise, and I bought it in the same quantity as the rest. If the caffeine is the point, the Nicaragua is the one to reach for with it left in.

Where it grew

A regional lot from Risaralda, in the middle of Colombia's coffee axis: coffee from small producers around Santuario, El Águila and Entreverdes, brought together in Santuario and milled as one. The growers are paid when they deliver the parchment and again when it is exported, which is why they keep sending it. Colombia and Castillo varieties grown between 1,400 and 2,000 metres, washed, then decaffeinated with ethyl acetate made from sugar cane grown around Palmira, in a plant that runs on water from the Nevado del Ruiz. Falcon cupped the decaffeinated coffee at 84.75.

How I'd brew it

Filter: 15g to 250g water at 93°C. Bloom with 30g for 45 seconds, then pour to 250g; finished by 3:30. On a Comandante, 24 clicks to start, coarser if the pour runs slow.
Espresso: 18g in, 38g out, 30 seconds.
Finer if it tastes sour, coarser if bitter.

Let it rest a few days from the roast date on the bag, then keep it sealed and away from air. Or freeze it.