Huila Decaffeinated from the American roaster SEY Coffee in Brooklyn, New York, proves that even decaffeinated coffee can be smooth, sweet, and very compelling in flavor. In the cup , it offers a balanced profile of orange marmalade, dark chocolate , and strawberry, which comes across as clean, mellow, and harmonious. The resulting flavor is sweet, approachable, and easy to read, with a pleasant fruity note and a chocolate base that adds depth to the coffee. It’s a decaf that doesn’t feel like a substitute, but rather a full-fledged option for those moments when you want a great cup without caffeine.
This lot comes from Colombia, specifically the Huila region and the town of San Agustín, where it was created as a blend of harvests from a small group of local producers. In terms of varieties , it is a field blend of Caturra, Colombia , and Castillo— a combination of the most common Colombian varieties, which together create a stable and well-balanced foundation for a sweet and clean cup. The coffee grows at an altitude of 1,600 to 1,800 meters above sea level, and its Huila origin alone suggests a profile built on sweetness, subtle juiciness, and clear flavor. SEY works sensitively with this origin, allowing precisely what makes this region so popular to shine through.
Processing begins with the hand-picking of ripe cherries, followed by washing, pulping, and a 24-hour dry fermentation. The coffee is then dried for 30 days on shaded raised beds, which helps maintain the clarity and stability of the final lot. After drying, decaffeination follows using the sugarcane ethyl acetate process at the Descafecol plant near Manizales, Colombia. The beans are first steamed, then repeatedly bathed in a sugarcane ethyl acetate solution, which binds the caffeine, and finally steamed again and dried to their original moisture content. Thanks to this process, the coffee retains its sweetness, purity, and a significant portion of its original character, even though it is stripped of at least 97% of its caffeine.