SUMATRA HUTAN SWISS WATER DECAF COFFEE
Hutan is a new coffee created to fund protection of the forests in Sumatra where this coffee is grown. 70% of the smallholder households there are women producers. Rahmah, Chairwoman of KOPEPI talked to this nature of maintaining flavour profile “As you may be aware, coffee from our region is never consistent due to many factors such as altitude, variety, microclimate, harvest time, etc. So, we need to have many farms to make it consistent. Our production team already kept Hutan coffee profile based on the approved sample, so we can maintain consistency.” The varieties are a blend between Gayo 1 and Gayo 2 – both local names. The area of Bies is to the west of Lake Laut Tawar, and where the trees this project funds will be planted. Says Rahmah “We like to plant trees, for the forest and its ecosystem (animal, water, wind, etc), and some trees which can bring additional income for the people growing it.” For the income generating trees this will include avocado, banana, orange, and durian. Red cherries are harvested in the morning, taken to the wet mill, and pulped in the late afternoon. They are tank fermented for 12-24 hours, washed, and then sun dried to a moisture of 30%. At this point, they are taken to the wet hull facility where they continue sun-drying down to around 12.5% moisture. Scored a whopping 83 by the independent coffee graders of the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America), higher than most non-decaffeinated speciality coffees! The only thing you’re not losing is sleep! With notes and aromatics of chocolate, pineapple, brown sugar, lemongrass and berry.
The Swiss Water process is an organic, 100% chemical-free option for decaffeination. This method does not require the addition of chemicals, instead relying on a super saturated green coffee solution called Green Coffee Extract (GCE). This is introduced to a batch of green coffee. As the GCE is already saturated with all the water-soluble compounds found in green coffee, minus the caffeine, the matching molecules won’t diffuse out of the coffee beans—but the caffeine will. The flavour is retained in the beans while the caffeine is removed. Thanks to some scientific smarts and creativity, it’s possible to have decaf coffee that tastes the same – just without the caffeine!
We've been roasting the world's best coffee in our 2kg San Franciscan roaster since 1994, resisting the temptation and logic of roasting on a more commercial scale, to stand by the philosophy that we can bring out the best in any coffee working this way. To give some context, each batch produces just enough for 8 supermarket size packets. Often, one roast is taken entirely by one customer!
The best tip we can offer to enhance your enjoyment of any coffee you try is to suggest that you grind your own beans freshly as required.