Decaf Before Death - Bella Vista Pacamara Decaf (100g)

Roasted to order and in small batches on Sundays 

If you enjoyed our Ombligon Decaf, this is one to try next!

This is first Pacamara decafs we’ve come across, and it immediately stood out on the cupping table. It has the rich fruit character and sweetness we love in naturally processed decafs, but with a little more structure and depth.

Expect juicy red berries up front, followed by the mellow sweetness of agave and a lingering finish reminiscent of 70% dark chocolate.

Produced by Jhonatan Gasca at Bella Vista Farm in Huila, Colombia, this coffee undergoes an extended natural fermentation before being decaffeinated in Colombia, helping preserve its sweetness and complexity

About the Coffee

• Producer: Jhonatan Gasca
• Farm: Bella Vista
• Region: Huila, Colombia
• Variety: Pacamara
• Process: Natural Decaf
• Altitude: 1,750–1,800 masl
• Cupping score: 87
• Taste notes: Agave • 70% Dark Chocolate • Red Berries
  

The Story Behind the Coffee

This coffee comes from Bella Vista Farm, owned by Jhonatan Gasca in Bruselas, Huila, Colombia. Bella Vista is part of Zarza Coffee, a third-generation family project built on traceability, innovation and sustainability.

Since 2022, the Gasca family has refined every stage of production—from selective harvesting and fermentation to drying—with the goal of producing expressive coffees that showcase the character of their origin. Alongside coffee production, the farm also integrates beekeeping to support biodiversity and strengthen the local ecosystem. 

What makes this release particularly exciting is the variety. Pacamara is celebrated for producing complex, characterful coffees, but it’s rarely found as a decaf. This lot is a chance to experience one of coffee’s most distinctive varieties without the caffeine, while retaining the sweetness and vibrancy that make Pacamara so sought after.

The Process

Only fully ripe cherries are hand-picked before being carefully sorted to remove underripe fruit and defects.

The cherries first undergo a short whole-cherry oxidation stage, encouraging the development of native yeasts before moving into an extended natural fermentation. Throughout fermentation, temperature is carefully controlled to develop sweetness, wine-like fruit character and complexity without over-fermentation.

The coffee is then dried slowly on raised beds over 20–30 days, allowing sugars to concentrate while preserving the fruit profile. Once the coffee reaches its ideal moisture content, it is stabilised before being sent for decaffeination. 

Sugarcane decaffeination (EA)

Once the coffee has been stabilised, it is decaffeinated by Decafecol in Colombia using the Sugarcane EA process.

Sugarcane decaffeination uses Ethyl Acetate (EA)—a naturally occurring compound derived from sugarcane grown in Colombia—to gently remove caffeine while preserving the coffee’s sweetness and complexity.

The process is straightforward:

Moistening: The green coffee is first moistened with water.

Extraction: Ethyl Acetate is circulated through the beans, selectively bonding with the caffeine while leaving the majority of the flavour compounds intact.

Steaming: Once the desired caffeine level has been reached, the beans are steamed to remove any remaining EA residue.

The result is a decaf that retains the character of the original coffee, allowing this rare Pacamara to shine in the cup.

Roasted fresh, in small batches

We roast every coffee to order in small batches on weekends before dispatching it fresh the following week. This helps each coffee reach you at its best, ready to brew.

This is a rare Pacamara decaf and one we don’t expect to have for long. If you enjoyed our Ombligon Decaf—or you’re simply curious to taste one of the most unusual decafs we’ve sourced—don’t wait too long. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.