Is Mexican decaf really caffeine-free? How is Swiss water treatment decaffeinated?

Mexican Chiapas Swiss Water treatment of decaf

Country of origin: Mexico, Mexico

Producing area: Chiapas Chiapas

Altitude: 900m-1500 m

Variety: bourbon, Kaddura, Tippika, Criollo

Treatment method: Swiss water treatment

Grade: HG

Production season: 2020

Production area introduction

Mexico has 12 major coffee producing areas, of which Chiapas is located in the south of Mexico, near Central America.

The coffee growing base in Chiapas is very strong. Therefore, the state is called the largest coffee producing area in Mexico, and its growers are experienced, enterprising and actively develop boutique coffee cultivation.

Chiapas coffee producing area is about 2500m above sea level, with many volcanoes and rich volcanic soil resources. High altitude and fertile volcanic soil give rise to the smooth taste and comfortable acidity of Chiapas coffee. The coast of Chiapas is affected by the northeast monsoon, with abundant rainfall in summer and rich water resources. So most of the coffee in this area is washed.

This batch of coffee is produced by the GRAPOS Cooperative, a coffee production organization based in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, which was founded in 2007, when there were only 90 coffee farmers, and by 2016, the cooperative had grown to 3253 coffee farmers, covering the Soconusco, Siltepec, Porvenir and Tapachula sub-areas of Chiapas. GRAPOS coffee planting area of about 5560 hectares, 900-1500m above sea level, mostly small farmers intensive cultivation, per capita planting area of 3 hectares.

Coffee variety

The coffee varieties of this batch of coffee beans are composed of bourbon, Kaddura, iron pickup and Criollo. Iron pickup and bourbon belong to the same ancient Arabica coffee species, which are loved by people for their rich acidity and excellent flavor quality.

Kaddura is a single gene variant of bourbon. It was found in Brazil in 1937 that its production capacity and disease resistance were stronger than those of bourbon species, and the plants were shorter and easier to harvest. Unfortunately, it is the same as bourbon species that have periodic problems of production capacity fluctuation every two years.

Cleo is a natural mutant of the iron pickup, which is commonly found in countries such as Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico. Some countries in Latin America that grow coffee also call the iron pickup "Criollo". Can be seen as Cleo is a localized tin pickup.

Treatment mode

This batch uses Swiss water treatment decaffeinated technology, this treatment will soak raw coffee beans in hot water, the soaking stage has actually partially removed caffeine. The soaked solution is then filtered with activated carbon and finally poured back into the coffee beans.

This series of steps effectively removes 99.9% of caffeine, and in addition to requiring no use of chemical solvents, the soaked solution can be reused in different batches of treatment procedures.

Raw bean grade

Mexico adopts a raw bean grading system based on hardness. At the same latitude and on the same plot, the higher the altitude, the greater the temperature difference between day and night, the longer the coffee growing period, the harder the beans, the more nutrients absorbed in the beans, the more obvious the flavor substances will be. There will be more raw beans. The grade of this batch is HB (hard bean), and the growth altitude is 1200-1400m.

Baking curve

Test the flavor by cup

Cooking parameters

Filter cup: Kono filter cup

Water temperature: 88.8 ℃

Powder content: 15g

Powder / water ratio: 1:15

Degree of grinding: medium grinding (Chinese standard No. 20 screen pass rate 75%)

Cooking technique: three-stage extraction. Steaming with 30 grams of water for 30 seconds, small water injection around the circle to 125 grams for segments, when the water level is about to expose the powder bed, continue to inject water to 225 grams to stop water injection, and so on when the water level is about to expose the powder bed, remove the filter cup, the cooking time is 3 minutes and 10 seconds.