Onyx Coffee Lab - Colombia Sebastian Ramirez Red Fruits - Decaf Filter 284g

A decaffeinated specialty coffee roasted by Onyx Coffee Lab. Light roast, perfect for filter coffee machines, drippers, Chemex, AeroPress, French Press, and other pour-over brewing methods. You can expect hints of strawberry, milk chocolate, cane sugar, and banana.

There are two mountain ranges spanning from the north border of Colombia to the South where it meets Ecuador. Nestled within the Occidental range, you’ll find some of the world's best coffees growing within Quindio. One producer contributing to this high reputation is Sebastian Ramirez, a fourth-generation producer and owner of El Placer Farms, an experimental commercial project where he produces amazing coffees. Within his tenure of growing coffee, Sebastian has planted Gesha, Red, Pink & Yellow Bourbon, as well as Wush Wush. His focus is not only on growing exotic varieties, but also on processing and extended fermentations. Sebastian controls variables like temperature and PH during his limited oxygen fermentation, and he also adds a mosto, a glucose-laden liquid that is left from the anaerobic fermentation of coffee cherries. The addition of this liquid innoculates the fermentation process with the dominate yeast and bacteria from the last fermentation, ideally creating a homogenous profile across processing.

“Infused. Co-fermented. Inoculated." These words are often used to describe the process of co-fermentation. This is not a new practice (producers in some regions have been adding Cinnamon to fermentation tanks for years.) However, this new trend of applying different additives to fermentation or drying has taken off in the past few years. This polarizing practice involves adding anything from essential oils to fruit to spices to green coffee in order to create a dominant flavor profile that carries to the brewed cup. The cases have been argued whether the market drives these or the production of them creates demand; either way, this is one side of coffee production and processing that is being explored. As a roaster, the cornerstone of this processing method is transparency and a do-no-harm approach with infusions, ensuring the end consumer is aware of the alteration of the green coffee structure and, therefore, the brewed coffee.

The actual processing applied to this coffee is straightforward: there is an initial pre-fermentation of the cherry, followed by a depulp and a patio drying. During the drying phase, tangerine peels from the local market are added to the parchment coffee. The fruit esters penetrate the permeable structure of the green coffee, providing a lasting and pungent flavor through the drying process, roasting, and brewing.