D Stands For Decaf - Sweet Momelo (200g)

Her passion for coffee was ignited by Jairo's work on coffee farms and as a dry mill manager. She often heard him talk about coffee and wanted to become an active part of the world herself. With his support, Luz began to delve deeply into coffee cultivation and learned step by step how to produce high-quality, ripe cherries. Dealing with pests, in particular, presented her with significant challenges at first – this is where she benefited greatly from Jairo's experience.

Today, Luz focuses entirely on specialty coffee production. With Cofinet's support, she has further developed her cultivation methods and places great emphasis on the quality of her harvest. Once the cherries reach optimal ripeness, they are further processed at Cofinet's nearby La Pradera processing station.

Sustainability practice:

Cofinet and its partner farms, including La Leona, are committed to conserving resources and practicing sustainable practices. These include:

• Water saving through the use of natural and honey processes. 90% less water is used in washed coffees through dry fermentation and only small amounts of water are used to remove the mucilage.
• Agroforestry: Cofinet cultivates native plants in its own nursery and distributes them free of charge to producers. These plants provide shade, promote biodiversity, and improve soil quality – reducing fertilizer requirements, and the coffee cherries ripen more slowly, which intensifies the flavours. Together with their reforestation partner Biomma, they have been planting 70 trees every month since 2020 to offset CO₂ emissions and actively contribute to environmental protection.
• Producer Internships: Cofinet offers producers a free, two-part internship program. In the first part, participants learn alternative fermentation methods at Cofinet. In the second part, Cofinet visits the producers on their farms and supports them in their initial trials. They guarantee the purchase of the first batch.

When Luz is not working on the farm, she enjoys spending time with friends and getting involved in local groups that support disadvantaged people.

Through the dry fermentation process developed by Cofinet and its partner farms, only small amounts of water are used to remove the mucilage. This way up to 90% less water is used compared to traditional washed methods.

The result is a vibrant, sweet, and tropical cup that offers the full expression of Luz Helena’s terroir.

The beans are then decaffeinated using the sugar cane process. The sugar cane process uses ethyl acetate (EA), a natural solvent obtained from sugar cane through fermentation—hence its name. EA is naturally present in numerous fruits and other foods.

1. First, the green coffee beans are steamed to open their pores.
2. They are then placed in a solution of water and ethyl acetate, which binds and removes the caffeine without affecting the flavors. This process is repeated several times until 99.9% of the caffeine is removed.
3. Finally, the beans are steamed again to remove any remaining traces of ethyl acetate and then dried. The remaining amount in the beans is several times lower than in a banana.

The Sugar Cane process preserves the original aromas and flavor of the coffee, often gaining sweetness, and has no off-flavors from the decaffeination process.

This coffee was decaffeinated in the country of origin, keeping a larger portion of the value chain within the country. Short transport routes reduce the carbon footprint and guarantee the freshness of the beans.

Brewing recommendations
Filter: 

Ratio: 1:15 (e.g., 15g coffee to 225g water)
Temperature: Lower, around 88–89°C
Grind size: Slightly coarser than usual

Simple Recipe:

• Bloom: 45g for 45 seconds

• Two pours: up to 120g and then 225g

Too much agitation (movement) leads to clogging (stalling) and increased astringency.