Decaf Blend

This decaf coffee was processed by Swiss Water Process in Vancouver BC, whose patented process uses only water to remove  99.9% of the caffeine content and leaving much of the volatile compounds intact. We’re calling it “Boda Boda” blend, as a way of paying tribute to the amazing “boda boda” motorcycle taxis common to East Africa. It’s amazing to see just how many passengers these drivers will cram on two wheels, regularly shuttling 3, 4…even 5 people around bustling cities and on dusty roads! Have cargo to move too? No problem! Boda boda drivers don’t seem to have any qualms defying the laws of physics! The coffees that went into this blend are from stations Mutovu and Karambi in Nyamasheke, Rwanda, and a small amount of dry process coffee from Gakenke site in Kayanza, Burundi.

This East African decaf blend of Burundi and Rwanda coffees yields well-balanced sweetness, subtle top note hints, and moderate bittersweet tones that all come together to make quite an appealing decaf. Grinding a light roast, the fragrance releases notes of sugar in the raw with a baking spice hint, vanilla wafer cookies, and a slight honey note. I found the wet aroma to be simple, sweet, and convincingly “non-decaf” in character. The brew showed a nice balance between sweetness and acidity, nothing “over the top” in terms of flavors, and reminded me how East African coffees can be great replacements for coffees of Central America. City+ roasts bring pleasantly sweet accents to the brew, like light brown sugar, and sucanat, contrasted by and subtle hints of citrus, and green apple. More developed roasts improve on roast tones, like dark chocolate, and cinnamon-laced hot cocoa.