‘Death before decaf?’ It’s more like ‘decaf ’til we die’. Here at Neighbourhood Coffee, we see no shame in opting for a decaf. Especially when you’re not compromising on flavour or body – which this decaf has oodles of. Hailing from Sul de Minas in Minas Gerais, Brazil, this coffee is full of rich milk chocolate flavour. It’s a regional blend of natural and pulp natural processed coffee, which has been expertly curated by quality analysts in their Patrocinio lab. The resulting flavour is full-on chocolate. A liquid millionaire’s shortbread. It’s rich and chocolatey, with a soft butter caramel sweetness and biscuity body. We love it on espresso, but it works well on filter, AeroPress and cafetiere too.
This coffee goes under the Water – Ethyl-Acetate process, also known as “Sugarcane” or “E.A” process. Ethyl-Acetate is a substance that occurs in sugarcane and is used as a solvent to bind to caffeine. The process starts by soaking the green coffee in water before steaming it for 30 minutes. This opens the pores to make the caffeine extraction possible. Then the green beans are soaked and washed in ethyl acetate solution, which attracts and removes the caffeine. Once the coffee is saturated, the tank is emptied and a fresh solution is poured in. Then the coffee undergoes steaming to remove the EA. After drying, cooling and polishing the beans, a final quality control determines whether the coffee is ready for roasting.
