Low Caffeine Blend Coffee Beans | Mixed Process

A 50/50 blend of our decaffeinated Ethiopian and Ugandan coffee beans, with our Kenya Kemangau Estate AB beans.

 

Ethiopian component: 

 

The Fahem Group supports 754 farmers, that are distributed across the Atnago and Limmu Seka districts in Jimma, known as the Atnago farmer's group. 

 

The sites are situated at altitudes ranging from 1755-2010 metres above sea level (masl).  It is an area with one of the most beautiful natural forests in the country.  The plantation is managed with maximum care to keep the natural ecosystem intact.  .

 

Fahem are committed to social responsibilty, supporting the farmers in seedling raising and distribution, providing strong field technical support and with building two grain mill establishments.  They also support the community and have built a school and kindergarten. 

 

Ugandan component: 

 

The Coffee Gardens, was established in 2017, with the goal of producing speciality coffee in an ethical way, that benefits farmers and the environment.  In 2018 they set up their own micro-coffee processing station ith the Bukyabo valley, beneath the farming community.  

 

The farmers live on the mountain about 600 metres above the washing station.  Within hours of being picked, the coffee cherries are carried down to the station in 50kg bags by a team of nearly 160 women and men employed from the local community.  The coffee is coffee is then pulped before undergoing The Coffee Garden's signature fermentation method involving a pre-wash, a long soak in the mountain spring water, and then a gentle long fermentation lasting 40 hours before a final wash.  

 

The sparkling water decaffeination process:

 

The green beans are soaked/cleaned in water, this allows the the pores to open up as the beans expand and caffeine molecules become mobile.

 

Pressured Carbon Dioxide is introduced, this combined with the present water creates sparkling water.  The CO2 acts like a magnet to the caffeine molecules, extracting it from the beans.

 

The water is then drained into an evaporator which precipitates the caffeine rich carbon dioxide out of the water.

 

This cycle is repeated until the caffeine level is low enough to be classified as decaf.

 

The decaffeinated coffee is then gently dried until it reaches its original moisture content.

 

Kenyan component:

 

Marcarius Manchura established the Kemangau estate in 2014, it is located in Kisii county, Mochhoge Borabu constituency.  The Kisii region is perfectly suited for the growth of coffee with its volcanic soils and high elevations.

 

Kemangau farm receives support from Kahawa Bora Millers, which translates into English 'Excellent Coffee Millers'.  They offer agricultural advice, with regular training on smart agriculture and good agricultural practices.   These include, good pruning practices, manure and fertiliser application, weed control and renovation advice to help keep the farm in optimal condition.

 

At the Kemangau estate, only red ripe cherries are picked.  The cherries are sorted at the factory before  pulping is carried out.  Fermentation then takes place in concrete fermentation tanks for a period of 12-14 hours.  Afterwards thorough washing is carried out using rainwater, supplemented by clean river water.  Finally the cherries are dried on raised beds for 7-10 days, whilst further sorting is done, to remove any unwanted materials and insect damaged beans.