Apas Decaf, decaffeinated espresso from Brazil

Apas Decaf - Coffee Info

How we would prepare Apas Decaf

Our David developed and optimized the recipe with the following equipment:

Water: total hardness 5 °dH , alkalinity 3 °dH

Grinder: Niche Zero

Grind size: 7

Why does Apas Decaf taste the way it does?

The APAS blend is a mix of coffees from the 71 members of the cooperative who market their coffee under the name APAS. They are among the Fairtrade pioneers in Brazil and cultivate their farms in the region around São Gonçalo do Sapucaí. They repeatedly achieve success as individual producers in renowned competitions such as the Cup of Excellence. The coffee cherries for the APAS blend are selectively harvested by the members on their own farms, dried in the cherry, and then mechanically de-pulped. This dry processing emphasizes the nutty and chocolatey character of the coffee.

Tell me more about Apas Decaf  

For years, APAS has been our bestseller because it delights many tastes. We now import several containers per year. The coffee and the cooperation with the cooperative are strategically important for us. In winter 2024, we asked ourselves: What if APAS was also available in decaffeinated form? We contacted the decaffeination company CR3 in Bremen and reserved a slot for spring 2025. The APAS blend was delivered to Bremen, decaffeinated there, and we then took delivery of the approximately three tons of coffee together with befriended roasters.

The Decaffeination Process

This coffee was decaffeinated by CR3 in Bremen using subcritical CO₂, also known as spring carbonic acid. Common to all processes is that the green coffee is placed in a closed vessel with water or steamed at the start of treatment, so that the pores of the green coffee open. A solvent is then added to extract the caffeine. In this case, it is spring carbonic acid. In the subcritical CO₂ method, the CO₂ is brought into a liquid state at high pressure and low temperature, which in combination with water can absorb the caffeine. This process takes several days.

How do we roast this coffee?

Very similarly to the Apas, as the CO₂ method makes the coffee hardly more porous. In contrast to the Sueño, which is decaffeinated with water, the influence of the method on the cell structure of the coffee bean is greater.

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