Colombia Huila Excelso - Cadefihuila Decaf Rainbow

The idea behind the Decaf Rainbow Blend is truly rooted in our love for a good decaf. They get a back rep, but we at Azahar believe they shouldn't. Our Decaf Rainbow, in Jayson’s words, " is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow" , but only decaffeinated. Our goal was to highlight the spectrum of colors and accompanying flavor profiles found across our many coffee-producing departments or states. We wanted every origin within our larger origin to be represented within a high-quality decaf blend. We wanted to be inclusive of all the coffees we source, as long as they met our quality requirements. We view this blend as the reward, at the end of many, many long days of work; a "tesoro" or treasure of a coffee that shines in cup quality and is supported by a strong and pleasing sensorial profile.

Our Decaf Rainbow Blend marries the varied attributes of coffees grown throughout the verdant valleys of Quindío. Despite living in an area severely afflicted by civil war until quite recently, the people of Quindío are hard-working and friendly. They carry in their DNA the fierceness that defined the indigenous Pijao people, who inhabited this territory before and during the days of the Spanish colonization. This decaffeinated blend hails from the lush, evergreen hills of five of the twelve municipalities of this department, which is located in the central Colombian Andes mountain range. Quindío is technically the second smallest department by area. Until 1967, Quindío belonged to the neighboring department of Caldas. Along with Caldas and the departments of Risaralda and Tolima, Quindío is part of a region known as the Eje cafetero, the Colombian Coffee Growing Axis, or Coffee Triangle, which historically used to produce most of the country’s coffee.

The decaffeination process utilized by Descafecol is a solvent-based process meaning that the caffeine is removed from the coffee beans using a solvent. The decaffeination agent we use is called ethyl acetate (also known as ethyl alcohol) and is derived from a mix of acetic acid (vinegar) and a natural extract distilled from sugar cane, blackberries, beets or sometimes grapes. We use a direct-solvent process meaning that first the beans are steamed to open their pores and are then rinsed in ethyl acetate repeatedly to remove the caffeine. Next the beans are dried but not completely, 10-12% humidity remains, and then the open bean is sealed with natural wax that in no way affects the flavor, fragrance or aroma of the coffee. We hope you enjoy this Decaf Rainbow, because decaf coffee also deserves to be enjoyed and respected.