Decaf <3 Mexico CESMACH MWP

Tasting Notes: Graham Cracker, Streusel, Milk Chocolate

Origin: Mexico

Region: Chiapas

Process: Washed, Mountain Water Process Decaf

Variety: Bourbon, Typica, Mundo Novo

Elevation: 1200-1750 masl

Importer: Cafe Imports

This decaffeinated Mexican coffee comes to us from the CESMACH Cooperative in Chiapas, Mexico and utilizes the Mountain Water Process for decaffeination. With hints of graham cracker, streusel, and milk chocolate this coffee is a sweet and delightful cup minus the caffeine!

CESMACH has nearly 500 active members and is managed by Sixto Bonilla. Sixto is very quality-focused and driven to empower his cooperative community with the tools and resources to produce better quality.

CESMACH is located in the buffer zone of El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, which is in the highlands of the Sierra Madre, one of the most diverse forest reserve areas in the world. It also contains Mesoamerica's largest cloud forest and is a protected natural environment for thousands of plant and animal species. All of the coffee produced here is shade-grown.

The Mountain Water Process, which is different in name but similar in technique to the Swiss Water Process, is considered to be one of the cleanest decaffeination methods. This is thanks to it not utilizing any external chemical compounds to dissolve the caffeine, as some other methods do. In MWP, green coffee is first soaked in a heated water solution which removes both the caffeine and the soluble (flavor) compounds. Once a batch of water is highly concentrated with the soluble compounds from the coffee it is run through a filter that removes the caffeine. The caffeine-free, but soluble-concentrated, solution is then reintroduced to a new batch of green coffee. Thanks to the principles of osmosis and concentration gradients, the caffeine once again moves out of the coffee and into the water but the soluble/flavor compounds do not since the water is already concentrated.