Bordered by the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, Colombia has invested in its coffee industry for decades and the spirit of innovation is strong with new coffee varieties and innovations in post-harvest processing emerging. As the world's third largest producer of coffee, producing approximately 11 million sacks (70kgs) each year, the country benefits from elevated altitudes with good rainfall and hours of sunlight throughout the year. It is crossed from north to south by the mighty Andes Mountain range, which divides its coffee growing regions into three branches towards the south.

This coffee is cultivated in the central-western colombia, stretching from the Western Cordillera Mountain range to the Pacific Ocean. The coffee in this area is grown mostly by indigenous communities. Geographically, the region has many features including the Popayan Plateau, many rivers, and the central volcanic mountain range which benefit from nutrient-rich soils and high elevations – perfect for high quality coffee production.

The majority of smallholder producers have very small plantations and use mixed farming techniques to diversify their income. The average age of a coffee grower in Colombia is 53 years-old, and there are now urgent national efforts to inspire the next generation of coffee producers.

The women's co-operative ASMUCAFE stands for Asociación de Mujeres Agropecuarias de Uribe, an organization of women farmers and landowners in El Tambo, a municipality within Cauca. Their mission is to improve their quality of life through coffee farming and to contribute positively to their community by working together and sharing resources, knowledge, and support: "Our work is determined by our values such as responsibility, honesty, commitment, respect, and solidarity", they state. Once harvested, this mix of Castillo and Colombia varieties undergoes a double-fermentation process. First, the cherries are left in loading hoppers for fourteen hours, then they are de-pulped and placed into traditional open fermentation tanks for another ten hours. The parchment coffee is then washed clean before being dried either in parabolic dryers or in the sun for 8-12 days.

In attempt to recognize and promote the work women by growing and producing coffee around the world, the Women Coffee Producers project was established to support associations of women producers in various countries. The programme aims to address the widespread income inequality that women experience by adding a gender-equity premium on top of a base price; this premium is paid directly to the growers for use in any manner they choose.

The coffee has been decaffeinated using the sugar cane decaffeination process. This involves extracting ethyl acetate (EA) from naturally-occurring fermented esters, which bonds to the chlorogenic acids and acts as a solvent to remove the caffeine present. The coffee is repeatedly washed in an EA and water solution until the caffeine content drops below a certified threshold to be considered decaffeinated. The seeds are then steamed once more to remove any traces of EA before being air-dried to the optimum moisture content.

ROAST

We are delighted to roast this naturally processed decaffeinated coffee bursting with flavour potential. Since the decaffeination process makes the seeds more brittle, we have roasted this coffee very slowly to gently build body, sweetness whilst preserving the fruity aromatics. Omni-roasted for filter and espresso, we love this coffee for its rich, nougat-like sweetness with notes of the famous Portuguese cherry liquor, Ginjinha, in a rich, malty finish.