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Origin: Sierra Sur, Mexico
Process: Washed, (E.A. Processed Decaf)
Varieties: Mixed
Importer: Osito
Harvest: 2025
Per-Kilogram green price: 10.75
Amount purchased: 180kg
The EA process or Sugarcane process comes from Ethyl-Acetate, a solvent derived from Sugarcane. When Ethyl Acetate is used in adequate quantities it acts as an excellent selective removing agent of caffeine. The process takes place nearby, This keeps more of the price paid for the coffee within the producing country and cuts down on the coffee’s carbon footprint. A full breakdown on the stages the coffee goes through for decaffeination can be found here.
High-quality coffees have been sourced from Zapotec smallholders in the remote localidades or municipalities of San Francisco and San Juan de Ozolotepec, located in the Sierra Sur of Oaxaca. This work would not be possible without the tremendous effort of Ricardo Romero, a Zapotec coffee grower from San Francisco Ozolotepec who, over the last 15 years, has been working closely with approximately 90 farmers in the Ozolotepeques to find better prices for his communities' sought-after coffees. Ricardo is a native Zapotec speaker, which is a crucial detail. The indigenous Zapotec languages have upwards of 50 different regional dialects spoken throughout south and central Oaxaca, as well as in the departments of Guerrero, Puebla, and Veracruz. Ricardo worked with 18 Zapotec producers for this specific multi-variety community lot, and it was processed in the town center, which sits at 2,000 m.a.s.l. This region is known for its cold, cloudy climate, which makes both fermentation and drying times difficult and oftentimes prolonged. The average volume of each of the 75 lots that went into this community lot was just 20 kilograms. The coffees were dry-fermented for two to four days, after which they were dried meticulously first on rooftop cement patios and then finished on raised beds inside solar dryers lined with woven petates, a type of natural fiber mat, before undergoing the decaffeination process.