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DECAF COLOMBIA Zarza

DECAF COLOMBIA Zarza

£20.00 GBP
£20.00 GBP
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An adventurous decaf from Zarza Coffee in Huila, the award winning family coffee project producing some of the world's most acclaimed coffees.

Sugarcane EA Decaf

Producer: Jhonatan Gasca

Farm: Bella Vista

Variety: Pacamara

Process: Natural + Anaerobic Fermentation

Region: Huila

Elevation: 1800m

Harvest: May-June 2025

Zarza Coffee is a third-generation family project rooted in Bruselas, the coffee capital of Huila. Since 2022, Jhonatan Gasca has refined every stage of production - from selective harvesting through to fermentation and drying - with a focus on traceability and expressive, high-quality lots. This attention to detail has led to high acclaim - in 2025 Zarza produced the coffee for world barista champion Jack Simpson that took him to the title.

The Pacamara variety, known for its bold fruity tasting notes, is an unusual starting point for this decaf. Pacamara is a cross between the high yielding Pacas variety and the big-beaned Maragogype. It was developed in El Salvador in the 1950's, where it still dominates the national cup of excellence competition.

This coffee undergoes natural processing with an anaerobic fermentation before decaffeination. Only fully ripe, high-brix cherries are handpicked and sorted. The whole cherries then go through an initial oxidation phase to activate native yeasts, before extended fermentation in sealed environments - developing a complex brightness and cacao-like depth. The cherries are then dried slowly on raised beds over 20–30 days, concentrating sugars and preserving fermentation complexity, before resting to stabilise the profile.

The coffee is then transported to Descafecol where it undergoes Sugarcane EA decaffeination. The resultant coffee is 99.9% caffeine free - a reduction in caffeine of approximately 90%.

This is a complex decaf for the curious coffee drinker: bright floral and rose notes making way for a deeper ripe fruits and long chocolate finish with a sweet syrupy body. We've roasted it lighter than our typical decaf, but with enough development to maintain a balanced cup.

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The Sugarcane EA Decaffeination Process

  • 1. Steaming

    The raw coffee undergoes steaming to increase its porosity.

  • 2. Soaking and Washing

    The coffee beans are placed in tanks with spring water and Ethyl Acetate (EA) derived from the fermentation of sugarcane.

  • 3. Caffeine Extraction

    The caffeine bonds to the EA molecules, and the liquid in the tank is repeatedly refreshed. The process continues until sufficient caffeine has been removed from the beans.

  • 4. Final Steaming and Drying

    The beans are removed from the tanks for a final steam removing residual traces of EA. The coffee is then dried and bagged ready for shipping.

Freshly Roasted

We roast on Tuesdays and Thursdays and dispatch the following day.

Shipping Information

We charge £3.45 for UK shipping using Royal Mail's Tracked 48 Service. Shipping is free for orders of £45 and over.

Recyclable Bags

We have carefully selected our bags to be mono material LDPE 4 and they can be recycled. Local recycling services vary across the UK - for the best chance of success drop the used bags at a recycling point

Our Coffee Commitment

If you are unhappy with your coffee please contact us at hello@calmcoffeeroastery.co.uk and we will try our best to correct the issue.

What our customers say about our decaf coffees