El Guabo Organic - CO2 Decaf

El Guabo is produced by an association of small producers in the San Ignacio region of Peru’s Northern Highlands. This association is made up of four small committees, numbering over 120 families in total.

Coffee is the mainstay of the local economy and the community lives from what it earn selling the coffee beans. Farms are small and traditional - each averaging only 3 hectares in size. Many households also grow other crops such as bananas, yucca and corn to feed their families and supplement their income.

The El Guabo farms use no chemical pesticides or fertilizers, and all are fully organic certified. The coffee is grown under the protective shade of native trees, which also provide habitat for a diverse range of bird, animal and insect species. The harvest usually runs from May until September, when the cherries are picked by hand when fully ripe. The beans are then fully washed and dried in the sun.

The average family size is 7 (mother, father and 5 children). They work as a unit – the father works all day in the field tending the coffee bushes, while the mother combines looking after the children with working in the fields and at the mill. When they are old enough the children of El Guabo attend the primary school in the community, before graduating to the secondary school in the local town.

The role of the women at El Guabo is central to the success and prosperity of the community. Women participate actively not only in all the stages of the harvest but also in the many and varied cultural activities in the community. Usually they are also responsible for the overseeing their family’s finances.

The CO2 Decaffeination Process

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.

The process can be described in detail as follows:

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.

The specific characteristics of the CO2 Decaf process are:

• The compounds responsible for the flavour and the taste in the roasted and brewed coffee, as well as the cell structure of the green and roasted bean, are left essentially intact. This is of clear benefit in fine, high grade coffees.

• Absolutely no health risk involved since the coffee is placed in contact with only 100% safe substances – the chemically-inert (and completely evaporating) carbon dioxide, and pure water.

• The extraction solvent is all natural – an important aspect that represents a strong selling point (“Naturally Decaffeinated”).

• Certification as Organic and Kosher by the appropriate organisations/authorities.

• A broad appeal that allows the roaster to offer a high-quality 99.9% caffeine-free decaffeinated coffee.