The parish of Alto del Obispo (literally, ‘The Bishop’s Hill‘) is high in the mountains of Colombia’s Huila department, an area which has been producing coffee for over a century. The majority of Alto del Obispo’s 300 families depend on coffee for their livelihood (coffee production accounts for some 90% of local income), which they produce on small family farms.

The average coffee plantation is around 3 hectares in size and mainly farmed solely by the families that own them. Only during the main harvest season (October to December) are extra hands hired to help with the cherry picking process (usually three to four extra people). The coffee is mainly shade grown under the Guamo, a native fruit tree, and also the local Cachingo, a very broad-trunked tree that stores a high volume of water and so helps the soil to retain moisture. The farmers process their coffee themselves using the conventional washed process, where the cherries are pulped, filled with water in fermentation tanks and then washed and sun dried on ‘elvas’ (a local word for roof patios built on top of the farmer’s house). Some producers also dry on patios and African beds (raised screens).

As yet the Alto del Obispo farms have not organised themselves into a formal association, so the coffee we buy is selected on cup quality at the local collection warehouse in the town of Pitalito, Huila. We can, however, trace each lot we buy back to the individual farmer.

Carbon dioxide is a highly selective solvent for caffeine. Based on this phenomenon the German decaffeination company, CR3, has developed what it calls a ‘natural liquid carbon dioxide coffee decaffeination process’. In this process, the natural carbon dioxide is used under ‘sub-critical conditions’, ie. in a liquid state at low temperature and pressure. These gentle process parameters, together with the good caffeine selectivity of CO2, gives a high retention rate of the coffee components responsible for aroma and taste.

How it works:

The raw, unroasted coffee is moistened with water and put into a vessel where it is brought into contact with pressurised, liquid carbon dioxide. By circulation through the coffee, the carbon dioxide draws the caffeine out of the bean. In an evaporator, the caffeine precipitates out from the CO2 which, after evaporation and re-condensation, is pumped again into the vessel containing the coffee for a new cycle. When the required residual caffeine level is reached, the CO2 circulation is stopped and the coffee is discharged into a drier where it is gently dried until it reaches the original moisture content. The coffee is then ready for roasting.

Price shown per 500g