Lima MWP Decaf

This rich Mountain Water Process decaf opens with aromas of semi-sweet chocolate, black cherry, and toffee. Toasted almond, more chocolate, and a touch of green grape accompany a dried cherry acidity in the cup. Nutmeg lingers in the aftertaste.

Details

Producer: Lima Coffee Farm: Smallholders Region: Cajamarca Altitude: 1,650-1,800 masl Varietal: Catimor, Caturra, Bourbon, Typica Process: Washed, Mountain Water Process Roast: Medium-Dark Notes: Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Toasted Almond, Dried Cherry

The Story

Rony Lavan is an ambitious and quality-driven cupper who has spent his career trying to carve out better and bolder coffees from small producers in Peru. While the country is emerging as a specialty market after many years of focusing on bigger lots and certifications, Rony's passion is identifying and developing top scores and the best cups. Green coffee buyer Piero Cristiani met Rony before Piero was buying coffee for Cafe Imports, and the two have not only stayed professionally connected all these years, but they have also become great friends. As president of the Lima Coffees exporting organization, Rony has already established himself at the forefront of microlot-quality coffees in Cajamarca.

His first year with Lima Coffees, he entered the national competition and won; with the introduction of the Cup of Excellence competition to Peru in 2017, the country has potential to enter the international spotlight for its finest offerings. Rony and his coffees will be the ones to watch.

The Mountain Water Process

This lot was decaffeinated at a facility in Mexico called Descamex. In order to remove the caffeine in this process, green coffee is soaked in a water solution, which removes both the caffeine as well as other solubles in the coffee (flavor compounds, for instance). The water is removed from the seeds and run through a special filter that captures caffeine molecules and allows them to be strained from the solution. The solution—now containing flavor compounds but no caffeine—is then reintroduced to the green coffee seeds, which reabsorb the soluble materials. The coffee is then dried once more, and prepared for reexport.

Sourced from the Cajamarca region of Peru, the Lima MWP Decaf is produced by Lima Coffee and roasted by PT's Coffee Roasting. This lot features the Catimor varietal, grown at elevations between 1650 and 1800 meters above sea level. To achieve its decaffeinated profile, the coffee undergoes a washed process followed by the Mountain Water Process, a method that utilizes pure water to gently remove caffeine while aiming to preserve the bean's inherent characteristics. You can learn more about the nuances of these processing methods in our technical guide.

In the cup, this coffee presents a balanced profile defined by notes of semi-sweet chocolate, toasted almond, and dried cherry. When evaluating these specific descriptors, it can be helpful to reference the flavor wheel to better understand how these distinct sensory attributes interact. As a decaffeinated offering, it provides a focused experience that highlights the traditional qualities often associated with high-altitude Peruvian production.