It’s a new year and with that many folks out there make the resolution to decaffeinate life or at least cut it out a little bit. Whether it is your choice or from the recommendation of your doctor, to kick the caffeine addiction, we have two excellent offerings of decaf coffee. There may be many mixed reviews around the specialty coffee industry surrounding decaf coffee, but whether you’re a “death before decaf” person or it's your go-to for an afternoon cup to avoid the caffeine jitters, Pachamama’s farmers deliver some darn-good decaf coffee.
If you like a good cup of decaf you may be asking well, why is there controversy surrounding decaf? In an interview with Vox, Murray Carpenter, the author of the book Caffeinated: How Our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts, and Hooks Us situates the market of decaf and why so many people see a stigma against it: “Some of [decaf’s poor reputation] is a hangover from the fact that 20 or 30 years ago, people simply weren’t producing as much good coffee as they do now, and decaf was the less good version of that not very good coffee.” Following this logic we can assume, as coffee gets better so does the decaf (with some exceptions), but there is still a huge difference in the quality of decaf coffees you can buy out there.
An important note from Sprudge on decaf coffee, “all decaffeinated coffees taste a little different than their caffeinated counterparts, as the removal of caffeine’s bitter compounds have an unavoidable effect on flavor, body, and acidity. What the change in flavor is will depend on the original coffee as well as the method used. Second, all decaffeinated coffees retain a little bit of caffeine. These processes can guarantee a certain amount of caffeine is removed, but typically a very small amount remains, with the final amount in the cup dependent upon roasting and brewing.”
This is where Pachamama's decaf coffee outshines the others. All of our decaf coffee is sourced from our owner-cooperative at La Union Regional in Huatusco, Veracruz, Mexico. The farmers take great care and pride in their coffee, you can read more about the cooperative here.
To decaffeinate the coffee, the green coffee is sent directly from the cooperative to the decaffeination facility, where it’s processed using Mountain Water Decaffeination Process.
As an organic brand we are committed to using the best coffee for the planet and for consumers, and that includes choosing a better decaffeination process.
Mountain Water Decaffeination Process is completed using no chemical solutions like other decaffeination processes, instead it uses pure water. The green coffee is soaked in hot water to extract caffeine. This also extracts elements we want in the coffee, like the fruity acids, sugars, and fats and oils. Next, the solution containing both caffeine and tasty molecules, referred to as “Green Coffee Extract," is processed through a charcoal filter that collects the larger caffeine molecules, and puts the other extracted stuff we want in the final product back into the green coffee.
If you’re looking for great decaf or want to try something new, shop our two decaf options: medium roast and french roast here: https://pachamamacoffee.com/collections/coffee/Decaf
