Colombia — Sebastián Ramirez Finca El Placer Castillo "Red Fruits" (Co-Ferment, Decaf)

Tastes Like — 🍓 Strawberry Jam • 🍫 Chocolate Cherries • 🍮 Dulce de Leche • 🍫 Milk Chocolate

DETAILS

• Producer: Sebastián Ramirez
• Farm: Finca El Placer
• Region: Quindío, Colombia
• Varietal: Castillo
• Process: Co-Ferment, blended with washed lot, then Ethyl Acetate Decaffeinated (EAD)
• Elevation: 1,700–1,800 masl

INTRO Sebastián Ramírez's beloved Red Fruits co-ferment, finally transformed into a decaf offering after a long-running project. Fruited and fun, like strawberry jam and chocolate cherries, but smooth and sweet, like dulce de leche and milk chocolate — the funky intensity turned down a notch, with sweetness amped up in its place. In the cup: strawberry jam, chocolate cherries, dulce de leche, and milk chocolate.

THE PRODUCER Sebastián Ramírez is a fourth-generation coffee producer who's been growing coffee for over 13 years. Early in his career he began exploring the nuances of fermentation, and today he's regarded as a master of advanced processing techniques like co-fermentation and carbonic maceration. His mission is to make coffee accessible and exciting — a mission he champions both in his own processing work and as a mentor for the Unblended Young Producer Program. Sebastián and his coffees are, fittingly, "anything but ordinary."

THE PROCESS Handpicked, quality-sorted cherries undergo 120 hours of anaerobic fermentation alongside added wine yeast, dehydrated strawberries, and fruit glucose, with pH monitored diligently throughout. The coffee is then pulped and undergoes a further 72 hours of anaerobic fermentation in stainless steel tanks, with CO2 injected during this stage. Drying happens in two steps: shaded patios at a controlled 40°C for 20-25 days, then a further 15 days resting in GrainPro bags.

The original strawberry co-fermented lot was then blended with a traditional washed lot from Sebastián's farm before the blend was sent for Ethyl Acetate Decaffeination (EAD) — a sugar alcohol byproduct used as a solvent to dissolve 95-97% of the caffeine out as the coffee steams.

The combination of blending with a washed lot before EAD decaffeination is the defining step — together they tone down the original lot's funky intensity while amplifying sweetness, preserving the strawberry and chocolate cherry character alongside a new dulce de leche depth. Note: the decaffeination process leaves the beans with a red-ish hue and slightly oily appearance — a normal effect of the method, not a defect.

THE CUP Fruited and fun, yet smooth and sweet — strawberry jam and chocolate cherries meet dulce de leche and milk chocolate. One of the most exciting flavour profiles achieved in a decaf, with the intensity of Sebastián's original Red Fruits lot dialled back and its sweetness turned way up.

Flavour Notes 🍓 Strawberry Jam 🍫 Chocolate Cherries 🍮 Dulce de Leche 🍫 Milk Chocolate