Fruity Crazy Decaf Red Bourbon Coffee
Current batch: Harvest summer 2024, landing November 2024.
NIGHT OWL Red Bourbon Crazy Decaf is a decaffeinated coffee created with the sugarcane method. This coffee may really shook your opinion on decaf! This natural process avoids excessive temperatures and leaves a coffee with enhanced sweetness, which roasts and tastes much more like the original, caffeinated coffee.
What do specialty coffee roasters say about this coffee?
“The best decaf we have ever tasted! Gently decaffeinated (Canesugar Decaf), refreshing, spicy, smooth, sweet, slightly fruity with a good body. Cherry, bergamot, honey-like body, spicy, blackberries, floral. Juicy and delicate.” Ojo de Café – Switzerland
“Jammy, chocolaty. Milk chocolate, blackberry jam, violet, thyme, oak in aroma and cup. Briskly sweet acidity; plush, syrupy mouthfeel. Chocolaty, fruity finish into the long. We couldn’t tell this was decaf in a blind cupping — it’s chocolaty, syrupy, deep-toned and rich.” Coffee Review of Kakalove – Taiwan
“Autumn afternoons of coffee without limits have arrived with this Decaf. Quite simply, the best decaf we’ve ever tasted. Sweet aromas of cocoa and milk chocolate, a honeyed body with hints of caramel and brown sugar, and fruity cup flavors of plum, papaya and passion fruit.” Nomad Coffee Roasters – Spain
“Sweetly tart, gently herbaceous. Meyer lemon zest, bay leaf, baking chocolate, date, myrrh in aroma and cup. Brisk, sweet acidity; crisp, satiny mouthfeel. Especially long, vibrant finish with lingering notes of baking chocolate, date and myrrh. One of the nicest decafs in recent memory — citrusy and sweetly herbaceous with a depth few decafs achieve.” Coffee Review of modcup – USA
Red Bourbon Washed DECAF sugarcane method
Process: Washed DECAF Sugarcane
Processing Information
Wilton’s primary aim in processing this coffee is to preserve the volatile compounds within the beans. To achieve this, he employs his established method of anaerobic fermentation coupled with thermal shock, culminating in the “decaffeination” process using ethyl acetate, commonly known as Sugarcane natural Decaf.
The process initiates with a meticulous selection of beans based on density and size, followed by bean sterilization using ozonized water and ultraviolet light. Subsequently, the coffee undergoes immersion in water at 90 degrees to enhance the sweetness of the beans, followed by depulping (removing the skin). At this point, the fermentation process kicks in for 36 hours with the yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus, followed by washing and elimination of the mucilage. The beans are then mechanically dried for 46 hours at a constant temperature of 40 degrees Celsius.
Before decaffeination begins, the green beans undergo steam treatment to eliminate the silver film, increase moisture, and open the pores for easier caffeine extraction. At this stage, the coffee is immersed in ethyl acetate (E.A.) – derived from fermenting molasses from sugar cane to create ethanol that is then combined with acetic acid to form ethyl acetate- which binds to chlorogenic acid and dissolves caffeine. Following this, the beans are cleansed with water, subjected to steam to remove any residual ethyl acetate, and dehydrated until reaching 10% moisture content.
The natural/sugarcane processing method offers various advantages, such as:
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- Avoid excessive heat or pressure that could disrupt the green bean’s cellular structure.
- The sugarcane method is both natural and chemical-free, ensuring the retention of the coffee’s natural taste, complex flavor profile, and aroma, especially when the beans are of high quality.
- The sugarcane used in this process is abundant in Colombia, and the method itself is environmentally friendly, utilizing a byproduct from sugarcane in a circular manner. Additionally, the caffeine extracted during the process is typically sold for use in other products.
Several studies indicate not only the potential of fermentation to enhance the flavor of foods and beverages and improve certain characteristics, such as acidity and body, in coffee but also for the creation of artisanal beverages with a potential health-added value.
Fermentation is a natural process well known and used by mankind for thousands of years for the fundamental purpose of making beverages and bread and by-products.
