Colombia El Diviso Decaf

About this coffee

Nestor Lasso might be a young producer but in just a few years, his name has become synonymous with competition-quality coffee and unique, innovative flavors. He and his brother Adrian took over their parents’ farm when Nestor was 25, and together they transformed Finca El Diviso into a hub for coffee excellence and meticulously crafted microlots.

Out of El Diviso’s 18 hectares, 15 are devoted to specialty coffee cultivation and the rest to natural forest preservation. Nestor approaches coffee production with a collaborative mindset, and works with industry experts, fellow farmers, and exporters to refine his techniques. The Lasso brothers are constantly pushing the envelope of Colombia’s coffee potential as part of a new generation of producers.

The Ombligon coffee variety is a bit of a mystery, and its exact origins are still unknown. Some Colombian producers believe it’s related to an Ethiopian landrace varietal, and most agree that it’s most likely a mutation of similar varieties like Pacamara or Bourbon. The name, which means belly button in Spanish, hails to the variety’s unique cherry shape.

Ombligon is one of Nestor Lasso’s standout offerings and underwent a series of carefully monitored fermentations before it was decaffeinated at Descafecol, Colombia’s leading decaffeination plant. After desinfection and floating the cherries in water, removing impurities and low-density beand, and manually selection only the ripe ones, the cherries were oxidized for 48 hours. Then, they were anaerobically fermented for 48 hours in tanks at 17-20C and the lixiviates byproduct, collected for reuse in subsequent batches. A submerge fermentation with (previous) lixiviate recirculation for 28 hours at 17-23C followed, before lastly a thermal shock at 65-70C to stop fermentation and fix flavors.

For the drying process, it was conducted in a dar, hermetic room to protect terpenes and aromas, in stainless steel dehumidifiers, which allowed them to replicate drying curves. The maximum drying temperature was 37C, with a final moisture content between 10 and 11%.

The result is an intensely fruity cup profile and creamy mouthfeel, with a flavor explosion of violet candies, blackcurrant, and a cocoa nibs like aftertaste. Exciting times for decaf lovers.