Our Colombian Gran Galope coffee is produced by small microlot farmers in the famous Tolima region grown at high altitudes to produce an amazing Colombian coffee. The coffee has a buttery taste with a hint of nuts and a hint of citrus lingering in the aftertaste. Our naturally processed decaf also hails from Colombia, this process allows for a rich tasting decaf like you've never experienced. See below for more details on the natural sugarcane process.

Coffee Details:

Name: Gran Galope
Farm: Various Small Farmers
Origin: Colombia
Region: Ataco - Tolima
Altitude: 1500 meters
Processing Method: Washed

Colombia is the world’s third largest coffee producer with 12% of the world’s production and is known for its production of high-end Arabica coffee. This puts them behind only Brazil and Vietnam, but in contrast with these two, Colombia grows almost exclusively high-end arabica beans. Coffee growing directly employs a half million farmers, making it the country’s largest source of rural employment. Nearly all Colombian coffees are grown on small plots of land averaging 5 acres and tended by single-family coffee farmers. Coffee in Colombia consists of a large number of varietals stemming from a number of different growing areas. The classic Colombian profile…brings together a mellow acidity and a strong caramel sweetness, perhaps with a nutty undertone.

Colombia’s government has long recognized the economic potential of their coffee industry and has solidified it as part of the national identity.The Colombian Growers Federation or FNC for Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia was created in 1927 to represent coffee growers interests. In 1959 the FNC created the character of Juan Valdez, an incredibly successful and long-running marketing campaign that no other coffee-growing nation has matched. Long story short: this is why Colombian brew if often considered as good coffee universally. Today, the FNC continues to strive not just toward profit generation but toward creating a positive social impact. Research projects, training, environmental protection and community development all contribute positively to Colombia’s half-million coffee growers.

Process:

Colombian arabica beans are exclusively wet-processed with water being used to separate the precious cherries from the surrounding pulp. Wet-processing is a relatively new technique which results in a cleaner, brighter and fruitier product.

This makes it well-suited for the brightly acidic Colombian product. The growing landscape in Colombia is made up of small farms on steep hillsides. This means machine harvesting is impossible so beans are carefully picked by hand. This process is inefficient but results in a higher quality product.

Decaffeination Process Sugarcane NEA. Natural Process:

This process happens at a decaffeination plant in Manizales, Colombia. Natural Ethyl Acetate is derived from sugarcane which when combined with fresh spring water strips caffeine from the coffee.

The method used to decaffeinate with Ethyl Acetate is a chemical-free process in which no additional substances come in contact with the coffee. The delicate process of decaffeinating begins at the pre-treatment step by steaming the green coffee beans with low pressure steam to remove the silver skins.

The coffee is moistened with hot water to swell and soften the beans and start the hydrolysis of caffeine which is bonded to salts inside the beans. At the decaffeination extraction phase the Ethyl Acetate s is recirculated through the pre-treated coffee beans multiple times until at least 97% of the caffeine is removed.

Low pressure saturated steam is then applied following the extraction process to remove any traces of the Ethyl Acetate. The coffee is then vacuum dried to remove water previously applied in the pre-treatment process to adjust the final humidity value between 10% and 12%. Coffee is then cooled to ambient temperature using fans.