Identity Preserved Decaf, Colombia

The story of Finca Las Flores began in 1990 when Edilberto and Nubia, from Cundinamarca, decided to live in Acevedo, Huila. Years later, the farm was remodeled and dedicated to the production of specialty coffees, applying science and technology to achieve high quality standards. Today, Jhoan and his brother Diego manage Finca Las Flores, demonstrating that the new generations of coffee growers are ready to take on the challenge.

Finca el Diviso is a family business that has been producing coffee for around 25 years. This project was started by Jose Uribe Lasso, and in the last five years they have focused on the production of specialty coffees, forming a team of family and friends, managing to standardize processing protocols that allow them to standardize quality in the batches.

The two brothers have partnered with Jhoan Vergara, to create El Diviso. El Diviso brings together the two-family farms, El Diviso by Néstor and Adrián Lasso and Las Flores Jhoan Vergara, near the town of Pitalito, Huila. This association was excellent because these three young people combined their knowledge to improve quality. In this association, this year they have begun to process regional lots, they buy the cherries from their neighbors and process them at the Diviso farm.

The coffee cherries are selected and picked at a fully ripe state with approximately 22º Brix, the cherries are floated and washed and then an oxidation process of 36h is carried out. Another flotation is then carried out to reduce the temperature. The cherries are pulped and anaerobic fermentation is carried out for 60h in plastic bags. To finish the fermentation process, a thermal shock with water at 50ºC is carried out. Natural drying for 2 weeks combined with mechanical drying depending on the weather conditions an additional 2-3 weeks to stabilize it in the cellar.

Decaffeination Process: This is a natural process that combines high mountain spring water and naturally occurring Ethyl Acetate (EO); the latter is present in all coffee beans in their natural state (as well as in many fruits and vegetables), so no synthetic chemicals of any kind are added. Natural EO is obtained by a process based on sugar cane and, together with mountain spring water, are the only elements with which the coffee comes into contact. This water-EO process allows for a gentle extraction of caffeine from the bean, avoiding excessive heat and pressure, thus maintaining the natural structure and characteristics of the coffee bean.