Overview
Cóndor has partnered with local San Agustín farmers for more than 30 years, pioneering the commercialization of specialty coffee throughout the region. This includes the establishment of Club San Agustín - an annual cupping competition that identifies the top quality producers through an annual cupping competition.
Approximately 80% of the producers in this area are cultivating coffee on less than 3 hectares of land. Because the farms are tended to exclusively by the families who own them, the attention to detail is meticulous and there is a tremendous sense of pride in the final product.
About the Exporter: Cóndor Specialty Coffee
Founded in 1987, Exportadora de Café Cóndor was the first exporter of Colombian specialty coffee to pay premiums to producers in recognition of the efforts made for quality. The company joined the ECOM Group in 2012, and they now manage a full supply chain from farm to port through their own in-house facilities: 6 quality laboratories, 5 buying stations, 1 milling plant in Cauca with the newest technologies, and one wet mill under construction. They ship full or mixed containers.
Cóndor works alongside the growers to advise them in post- harvesting processes, tree nutrition, and best agricultural practices. Additionally, Cóndor holds quality competitions in different regions throughout the year to inspire and reward high quality and to select the best lots for export.
Regional Info
San Agustín, Huila, Colombia
San Agustín is a famous region of the Macizo Colombiano, which refers to a group of Andean mountains in western Colombia. It is home to the largest group of religious monuments and megalith sculptures in South America, depicting gods and mythical animals from Andean culture dating back to the first century. The monuments comprise a UNESCO world heritage site.
Flavor Notes
Chocolate, Cinnamon, Citrus, Tart
Processing Info
Washed
Prior to decaffeination, this coffee fermented for 18-24 hours, fully washed, and sundried on patios.
Ethyl Acetate (EA) Decaf
The decaffeinated version of this coffee is processed at Descafecol, a company based on the outskirts of the town of Manizales, Caldas in Colombia.
The process for decaffeination begins with sugar cane grown just a few hours south of Descafecol, which is turned into molasses. The molasses is then fermented to create ethanol and processed with acetic acid to create the ethyl acetate that will be used in the extraction of caffeine.
Ethyl acetate is used in food quite extensively and is known for bringing a fruity flavor to hard candy, chewing gum, ice cream, and many other products. It can also naturally occur in fruits (pineapple, berries, apples, and pears), is key to the flavor of rum, and can also be found in beer and wine. Ethyl acetate is also used in the decaffeination of not only coffee, but also tea.
So how is this used to decaffeinate the coffee?
Green coffee is brought to Descafecol and put in tanks where the coffee is steamed and introduced to hot water to open up the structure of the coffee to ready it for the extraction of the caffeine. Once ready, the EA solution is introduced to the coffee and run through multiple times. During this process, the caffeine bonds with the ethyl acetate and is ultimately separated from the coffee, removing a minimum of 97% of the caffeine. After the extraction of caffeine, the coffee is steamed once again to remove any traces of the ethyl acetate, and then sent to dryers to return the coffee's moisture content near to its beginning value. Once dried the coffee has a light food grade safe wax coating applied to it that is integral to protecting the coffee and increasing shelf stability. The coffee is then bagged in Grainpro and shipped.
Credits:
Photos & Information Courtesy of Cóndor Specialty Coffee