Sumatra – DECAF – MC – Green Unroasted

About: Sumatra is a fascinating origin, unique even among its fellow Indonesian coffee-growing islands and areas. The vast diversity that we have found there is one of the reasons that we are always excited to cup Sumatran coffee in search of something special. Through this rigorous process, we have discovered producers and developed long-term partnerships with both individual farmers/collectors and cooperatives of various smallholders. We are also able to work with these partners to request and pay for more selective picking and processing, and we have undertaken several experiments with special-prep Wet-Hulling, to varying degrees of success.

We continue to pursue more and more special microlots and alternative processing methods, and we feel that there is a lot of untapped potential in this powerhouse producing region. Washed coffees in particular have grabbed our attention and our palates, as has the increase in democratically organized associations of women coffee producers.

Methylene chloride is a solvent that is used to bond with and strip caffeine molecules from the green coffee seed. The KVW MC process first uses hot water to extract caffeine and other solubles from the coffee seeds, and then the seeds are removed from the water. Methylene chloride is then added to the water solution, and it bonds with the caffeine; because MC is not miscible with water, it is easily removed from the solution along with the bonded caffeine, and the coffee seeds are re-submerged in order to absorb their soluble compounds. The United States Food and Drug Administration has stated that MC is safe for use in decaffeination processes, and is harmless to humans.