Decaf

Sugar cane is the starting point for one of the gentlest ways to decaffeinate coffee. The method relies on ethyl acetate (EA), a compound that occurs naturally in fruit and is produced here from fermented sugarcane molasses.

The process starts with unroasted green coffee, which is steamed to open up the structure of the bean. The beans are then bathed in a solution of water and EA, which bonds with the caffeine and draws it out while leaving most of the flavor compounds in place. This is repeated until the coffee reaches the target caffeine level. Finally, the beans are steamed once more to remove any remaining EA, then dried.

Because the process is so mild, the beans keep their natural sweetness, body, and structure. That is why a sugar cane decaf can taste full and rounded rather than flat, like a regular coffee that just happens to have less caffeine.

Cafesmo began in 2017 in cramped, aging offices and has steadily expanded since 2019, modernizing its facilities with support from the World Bank and other partners. Just before the 2019/20 harvest it opened a new wet mill with a much larger capacity that uses 90% less water, and it added two mobile GrainPro drying patios of 75 m² each to give its specialty lots more and better drying space.

The new offices opened in October 2020. The most advanced equipment is in the new cupping lab, which Cafesmo calls the epicenter of its work: a place for controlling, measuring, experimenting, and continually improving the profiles of its coffees.