At Extract, we're not just about roasting the best coffee; we're also experts at curating flavour. We're constantly looking for the best beans, pushing boundaries and tweaking parameters to deliver the perfect cup profile to you. Our Decaf coffee does exactly that.
With rich chocolatey flavours, caramel sweetness and a subtle hint of fruit loaf, our Decaf coffee is delicious with milk and alternative milks, offering fantastic flavour with zero compromise.
This epic decaf comes from our Exclusive Brazil blend that also makes up part of our much-loved House Espresso, Rocket.
What is the decaffeination process?
Our Decaf coffee uses a natural decaffeination method called Water EA. This preserves the natural integrity of the green coffee beans and therefore once roasted, results in a decaf coffee which is almost indistinguishable from the fully caffeinated counterpart.
This particular process starts by soaking the green coffee beans in water, and then steaming them for about 30 minutes. This expands the coffee cells and opens the pores of the coffee bean, making it possible to extract the caffeine.
Next, the beans are soaked and washed in an ethyl acetate (EA) solution to remove the caffeine. The ethyl acetate is a natural compound made by fermenting fruits and sugarcane. Over multiple washing and soaking cycles, the caffeine molecules leave the coffee beans through the cell membranes and bond to the ethyl acetate molecules. Leaving behind coffee beans without the caffeine - isn’t that amazing!
The coffee is finally steamed to remove the EA, then dried, cooled and put through a final quality control check before coming to us for roasting.
The hunt for our exclusive Brazil blend
In October 2023, Tommy, our head roaster, and Martin, one of our coffee specialists, headed to Brazil to understand further about the process around the selection of our exclusive Brazil blend that makes up our Decaf coffee as well as being an element in both our Rocket and Original house espresso’s.
Prior to the trip, Tommy worked closely with the quality team in Brazil to hone in on what this ‘perfect cup profile’ is: think intense dried fruit and chocolate vibes, topped off with a super sweet, clean finish, and a hint of raisin.
With the spec agreed, Tommy & Martin headed to Brazil to meet with the quality team at origin and immerse themselves in Brazil’s coffee supply chain.
At each stage of the journey, from the buying station to the warehouse, samples are taken and meticulously evaluated to ensure they meet our exacting standards. Whether it's checking for defects or assessing the aroma and flavour profile, the quality team works hard to make sure they’re curating the perfect flavour.
Once the blend is finalised, beans are packaged and make their way to Santos for shipping, where they go through one final round of sampling before making their journey to us for roasting.
Meet the roasters
Our tasty Decaf coffee is roasted on Bertha, a 120kg Probat roaster which we rescued from Bosnia in 2012. When we found her, Bertha was completely decommissioned, a pile of parts destined for scrap.
Over four years we rebuilt this machine, retro-fitting an afterburner to eliminate VOCs from it’s emissions and drastically improving fuel efficiency. Today, Bertha runs on just 40% of her original fuel consumption - a beautiful and efficient machine.
Looking for a Decaf Gift Subscription?
Know someone who would love a Decaf Coffee Gift Subscription? Send someone you love this delicious coffee for 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. Available as whole beans or ground.
Head over to our Gift Subscriptions to get started.
