Origin Story
Colombia, Decaffeinated
A fully washed Castillo from Colombian coffee communities, decaffeinated with ethyl acetate
Harvest Season
| Varietal(s) | Castillo |
|---|---|
| Processing | Fully washed, mechanically dried, ethyl acetate (EA) decaffeination |
| Roast Level | Medium Dark |
| Decaf | Yes — Swiss Water Process |
Roast Notes
Medium-dark — decaf beans take heat faster, so we push just into the first snaps of second crack to deepen the chocolate and honey without letting the orange vanish.
This coffee is decaffeinated with ethyl acetate. Everything else about it follows from that fact.
Ethyl acetate is a naturally occurring organic compound found in many fruits and vegetables, and it can also be synthesized for coffee decaffeination. The green beans are steamed or soaked to expand them, then soaked in EA, caffeine bonds with the compound and is drawn out of the bean, and the coffee is removed from the solvent, rinsed thoroughly, re-dried, and re-bagged. That is the whole method, and it is a solvent method — a fair thing to know before you buy a decaf, since the processes trade against each other. Water-based methods avoid solvent and can strip more aroma; EA tends to leave aromatic coffees more intact.
The coffee is Colombian, from producers in coffee communities across the country, growing Castillo between 1,200 and 1,800 meters. The cherry is fully washed and mechanically dried, and that processing is what builds the cup. A washed Colombian does not rely on volatile florals for its identity. It is milk chocolate, honey, and a gentle citrus — compounds that live in the structure of the bean rather than on the surface of it. That is why it holds together through decaffeination.
“Washed Colombia lives on chocolate, honey, and a gentle citrus. Those are structural flavors, and structure is what survives the process.”
Royal’s cup for this lot is orange, almond butter, honey, cinnamon, and milk chocolate. Orange arrives first and stays through the middle. Almond butter gives the cup its weight. Honey does most of the sweetening work, with cinnamon behind it, and milk chocolate closes it out. It is sweet without being loud, which is the honest description of a good washed Colombian.
We roast it medium-dark. Decaffeinated beans are more porous than standard green coffee, so they take heat faster and darken more quickly than you would plan for the same coffee with caffeine. This one wants to land just into the first snaps, deep enough to develop the chocolate, stopped before the honey turns to ash. The window is narrower than the caffeinated version but it is workable.
Brew it the way you would brew the caffeinated Colombia, because that is roughly what you have. Pour-over gives clarity to the orange and the cinnamon. Auto-drip puts the milk chocolate in the middle. Espresso pulls a shot that holds its own with milk, which is not something most decaf can claim. Start at 1:16 with water at 200°F.
We’ve been roasting coffee in Lakewood, Colorado under our neighborhood brand, Village Roaster, since 1979.
Buying green? The 2, 5 and 10 lb options are raw, unroasted coffee beans. They arrive as green coffee and cannot be brewed as they are. Roast them first, then brew.
