In 2023 we were lucky enough to visit Finca La Aurora and see the project established to support producers earn a higher price for their crop. Neighbouring communities have the opportunity to deliver their coffee cherries to La Aurora daily, receiving approximately 10% more per kilo than the processed parchment price, ensuring a consistent and increased income throughout the harvest season.

At La Aurora, the cherries are floated to remove the defected ones and then hand sorted choosing only the ripest cherries. Once sorted the cherries are taking to the Jamaica processing station to then be naturally dried for 15 days on raised beds.

From here it heads to Descafecol, just outside of Manizales, to be decaffeinated through the sugarcane method. The green coffee is steamed to increase its porosity using water from the Navado del Ruis, a volcano between Caldas and Tolima, and then submerged in ethyl acetate that comes as a by-product of sugarcane fermentation, hence its name sugarcane process. The beans are soaked until 97% of the caffeine is removed and then a final steam is used to lift the residual EA. This natural decaffeination process has minimal effect on the structure of the bean and its flavour, allowing us to produce a delicious coffee without the caffeine.