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The Rise of Decaf: Winning Competitions and Pushing Flavour Potential
Words by Katie Burnett
Decaf drinkers are arguably the purest pursuers of coffee flavour. Most of us reach for a coffee to get us out of bed, or as a mid-afternoon pick me up. At best, we reach for a coffee for two equal reasons: caffeine and flavour. Most likely, the latter comes second. However, for decaf drinkers, they are purely after the taste of the coffee, the experience of drinking it, the experience of making it or buying it and the process of enjoying a cup of coffee.
When we frame it this way, it becomes clear how important high quality decaf can be to the coffee consumer.
In 2024, after two previous attempts (where he placed third and then second), Weihong Zhang won the US Brewer’s Cup. Weihong is the owner and founder of BlendIn Coffee Club in Texas. As you open their website, you’re greeted with the goal, “PURSUING THE PERFECT CUP”. Weihong and his team source some of the best coffee from world-leading producers and share it with their customers in Texas, but it wasn’t one of these styles of coffee that he used to win the Brewer’s Cup.
He won using a decaf. Not a decaffeinated version of a highly processed anaerobic geisha, but a decaffeinated typica variety from Colombia. The same decaf that is used as BlendIn’s House Decaf, available in their cafe and on their webstore. It isn’t a normal CO2 processed decaf, but rather an innovative method of decaffeination using water and ethyl acetate.
Colombian producer, Oscar Hernandez, developed the process and processed Weihong’s coffee for the competition. Oscar’s family have owned and operated Los Nogales farm in Bruselas, Colombia since the 1940s when they bought it. Oscar’s father believes that the best coffee in Colombia is grown in Bruselas, and won the Colombian Cup of Excellence in 2006, procing that it was at least in contention. The Hernandez family maintain Los Nogalesa as a center for innovation and excellence in coffee production.
On their website, they describe their decaf process for a caturra varietal:
- Selection of ripe fruit. The process begins with the careful harvesting of only ripe coffee beans. This is the key to obtaining high quality coffee beans, as ripe fruit has optimal flavour and aroma.
– Cleaning and disinfecting with purified water: The harvested coffee beans are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected with treated water. This helps to eliminate impurities and unwanted micro-organisms.
– Density sorting, or floating: The coffee beans are immersed in water and sorted according to their density. Higher density beans tend to sink, while lower density beans float. This helps to separate the good beans from the defective ones.
– Fermentation: Coffee beans undergo a 90 hour fermentation process. During this time, sugars are broken down, which affects the flavour and acidity of the coffee. Pre-fermenting agents are also added, similar to sourdough starter in bread, which can give the coffee unique characteristics.
– Washing. After fermentation, the coffee beans are washed thoroughly to remove any remaining pulp and to prevent unwanted flavour changes.
– Natural solvent: The production of a natural solvent through enzymatic and fermentation processes from the pulp or skin of the same coffee. This solvent is essential for extracting the caffeine from the beans.
– Solvent soaking: The coffee beans are soaked in the solvent for approximately 48 hours. This process allows the caffeine to dissolve in the solvent and the beans are decaffeinated.
– Final wash: At the end of the solvent soaking process, the coffee beans are washed again to remove any residual solvent.
– Drying: The decaffeinated coffee beans are placed in drying kilns and left to dry for approximately 8 days. This ensures that the beans reach the correct moisture level before packaging.
Through Weihong’s competition success, these intricate processes have proven to be very successful in maintaining the flavour of the coffee throughout the decaffeination process.
Decaf has often been overlooked as the inferior flavour alternative, and for good reason. Decaf has historically been associated with excessively dark roasts, hollow flavours and woodiness, but the industry is moving towards a better alternative, and the market is ready for it.
In parallel to the progress in decaf processing, the popularity of naturally low-caffeine varietals are increasing.
Laurina is a naturally low caffeine exotic coffee varietal. This varietal has increased sweetness and decreased bitterness when compared to other coffee varietals, making it very desirable to specialty coffee consumers and green coffee buyers alike.
This low-caff varietal contains around half the caffeine of other arabica species, 0.8% caffeine compared to 1.8% caffeine naturally. Traditionally, a coffee varietal with a normal amount of caffeine will be put through a decaffeination process to create decaf coffee. Decaffeination techniques are know to strip a significant amount of flavour from the coffee and often result in damage to the cell structure of the coffee, making them difficult to roast well. The laurina varietal offers a low caffeine option without compromising on flavour.
Beyond its desirably low caffeine content, the laurina has exceptional flavour characteristics. It is known to have increased sweetness and low bitterness - characteristics that the specialty coffee industry demands.
Its flavour characteristics have made it sought after in the coffee market, with individual lots being sold for high prices, which compensate for the low yields. This makes it a more viable option for producers. Its popularity in coffee competitions has led to an increase in demand and price of laurina in recent years. The varietal has been featured on the menus of some of the world’s most prolific specialty coffee roastery’s, including The Barn in Germany, Forward Coffee in Canada and many more.
There are a number of roasters and specialty coffee consumers looking for rare and exclusive coffees, lower caffeine options and new varietals. Laurina fits perfectly into these categories and we should see it’s popularity increase over the coming years.
Decaf is an exciting avenue to explore in the coffee industry right now, and many eyes have been opened to the possibilities that lie in this overlooked sector of the market in 2024. After all, isn’t it about time we give our flavour-loving decaf drinkers the flavour experiences they are looking for?
