Many decafs you’ll come across are blends. In the past, blended decafs have been used to cover the low-quality beans used and the lack of flavour profiles of the coffee. At Decaf Nation, we are committed to changing the way decaf is portrayed; and single origins are one of the ways we’re doing this.
At Decaf Nation, all our coffees are single origins. Our head roaster Jacob, researches all the amazing decaf green beans that are currently available from around the world. From choosing ones that have more traditional taste notes, like our Mexican Sierra or Peru Alto Mayo. To our Yemen Anis and Honduras El Alto that are more filter-focused and fruity, not only is there something for everyone, there are high-quality decaf beans available.
The only exception to the single origin is our Half-Caff Hybrid Coffee! To produce a half caff, we have to use a caffeinated bean and a decaf bean. We use a Brazilian coffee that is caffeinated and the decaf is our Mexican sierra. There is still full traceability of these beans, which is a sneak peek into a key importance of a single origin decaf!
Check out other importances of Single Origin Decaf Coffee.
Reason 1: Flavour profiles can be showcased!
At Decaf Nation, we are keen to help challenge outdated stereotypes around decaf. One of these is it being flavourless. There were many reasons for this, including lower-quality beans. As decaf was considered a second thought, the bean quality then represented this! Blends were then historically used to help cover the lack of flavour/bad flavour of the beans. Beans that are chemically decaffeinated are nowadays more commonly blended. Chemical methods strip the flavour, so blends cover this - it’s a cycle that has caused decaf a bad rap!
All our coffees then have very distinct flavour profiles, as a result of single-origin beans being used. We make this super clear for customers when it comes to checking out our coffees on our websites and bags, as the taste notes are displayed super clear.
Here is a quick rundown of our different single origin decaf coffees:
- Mexican Sierra - Caramelised Sugar, Hazelnut, Peanut.
- Peru Alto Mayo - Maple Syrup, Praline, Milk Chocolate.
- Honduras El Alto - Toffee, Apple, Walnut.
- Yemen Anis - Sour Cherry, Orange, Raspberry
- Limited Edition - (we’re about to release a new one!! Check it out on our products page!!)
Reason 2: Ethical, Sustainability and Traceability
We source our decaf coffee beans from various suppliers that we have trusted relationships with. These include Swiss Water Company and Sheba Coffee. Peru Alto Mayo, and Honduras El Alto are both Fairtrade. They also work with various charities and organisations, including Grounds for Health; they make cervical screenings easier for women who live in remote areas in the coffee industry. As well as Wellness Coffee Research; their key focus is making the coffee industry a sustainable environment, long term. Sheba Coffee, which is where we source our Yemen Anis, are focused on making Yemeni coffee easily accessible. The team works with the farms through the entire process from sourcing, processing, and exporting.
As these coffees will come from one specific farm, traceability is then much easier, and coffee sacks can have tracking information on them so you can see the progress from farm to our roastery! Our team loves to talk about our different decafs, and we’re always here to help if you have any questions about decaffeination methods or want to know more about the coffee! Being single origins, we have access to all the details you might want to know.
As mentioned previously, decaf beans have in the past been second-grade coffee. Now, with single-origin beans resulting in high traceability and high quality control, the result is better-tasting decaf beans.
Reason 3: Coffee Education
The world of coffee has so many moving parts. From different coffee processes like natural, washed, and honey, to tasting notes and decaffeination methods. If you want to know everything there is to know about coffee, definitely check out James Hoffman’s ‘The World Atlas of Coffee’.
However, single origin decaf is a great way to help people know as much about the coffee as they can! As the coffee industry continues to grow, and in particular decaf grows in popularity (whether it’s health-conscious, lifestyle changes, etc), transparency becomes something more people are interested in.
Decaf coffee is still stereotyped as not having as much flavour, not tasting the same, which is definitely not true, especially at Decaf Nation! From swiss water, mountain water, sugar cane, co2, there are many natural decaffeination methods. To help decaf coffee continue to challenge misconceptions, being educated is a great way so people know that decaf can taste amazing!!
Summary
Single origin decafs are important for many reasons, including traceability, educating and showcasing flavour profiles. From decaf previously being chemically processed, resulting in a bad reputation, the importance of high-quality decaf has never been more key. Single-origin decaf allows the flavours of the beans to be highlighted, and coffee roasters like Decaf Nation can trace the coffee and know any ethical and sustainability standards of the coffee.
At Decaf Nation, whatever taste notes you prefer, or your ideal brewing method, you can have an amazing-tasting coffee for anytime of day!