Atunkaa Colombian Decaf

Tasting Notes

Brown Sugar | Butterscotch | Praline

Location - Colombia 

Region - Popayan, Cauca

Producer - Multiple smallholder farms

Exporter - Siruma Coffee

Importer - Falcon Coffee

Process - Sugar Cane Decaf

Varietal - Castillo

Altitude  - 1600-2100 MASL

Cup Score  - 85.5 (Falcon Coffee)

Producer Info 

Siruma started as a company five years ago with the goal of working with underserved and developing farming communities, focusing its efforts in Cauca, Caldas, and Tolima. Engaging closely with many indigenous communities, Siruma’s name comes from the Wayuunaiki language (spoken by indigenous people in northern Colombia) and means "Heaven and Skies." Atunkaa, also from the same language, translates to "sleep and sleepy dreams."

Many off-the-rack Sugarcane Colombia decafs, typically bought by importers already decaffeinated, offer zero farmer or price traceability, with little transparency about where most of the margin on a $4-5 coffee is made. By tolling our decaf with Descafecol, Siruma and Falcon ensure that a sustainable price is paid directly to the associations and farmers. The decaffeinator earns a margin for tolling, Siruma and Falcon each take a margin, and the largest share of the final price goes to the association and farmers.

The Atunkaa Washed Sugarcane decaf is sourced from Piendamó, Cauca, through a small association known as ACC (Central Cauca Association for Peace). The founder of this association saw the potential to add value to conventional Castillo coffee by implementing a centralized wet-milling process. His vision was to demonstrate to his neighbors that coffee could provide a sustainable livelihood, offering an alternative to the illicit crops that were once common in Piendamó. To achieve this, he developed and assembled a series of basic but effective machines that allow the association to safely process washed coffees under a standardized method:

1) Coffee is picked at peak ripeness to ensure a high sugar content.

2) A floating process is used to remove defective cherries, ensuring only the best cherries move forward.

3) The cherries are pulped and then undergo an extended fermentation in tanks for 24-36 hours at ambient temperatures of approximately 24 degrees Celsius.

4) After fermentation, the parchment coffee is washed thoroughly to remove any remaining mucilage.

5) The coffee is then pre-dried in a mechanical silo at 37 degrees Celsius to bring moisture down to 20%.

6) Final drying takes place in parabolic dryers until the moisture content reaches the optimal 10-11%.

By sourcing from the same supply chains as our non-decaf coffees, we help drive more volume and revenue to these farming partners. The results are fully traceable decaf community lots, with detailed records of contributing farmers and farm gate pricing. These washed decaf coffees score SCA 85-86, provide higher earnings for farmers, and offer an easily marketable, high-quality product.