Starlight - Decaf
Origin: Colombia, Huila
Process: Washed – Sugarcane EA Decaf
Altitude: 1,400–1,900 masl
Varietal: Castillo, Caturra
Tasting notes: Almond Cookies – Milk Chocolate – Pear – Vanilla
- We roast every Monday and Thursday, and ship on Tuesday and Friday.
For an estimated shipping time, please reach out to us. - We recommend letting the coffee rest for a minimum of one week after roasting date, with peak in flavors being around 3-4 weeks.
- A minimum of 200€ is required to place an order with our wholesale pricing.
The Story
Starlight is back — and this new edition might be the most convincing argument yet that decaf doesn't have to mean compromise. A new origin, a new process, and a cup that stands entirely on its own merits.
This lot comes from the highlands of Huila, Colombia, one of the country's most celebrated coffee-growing departments, where fertile volcanic soils, mountain spring water, and a stable high-altitude climate create ideal conditions for coffee at its most expressive. Grown between 1,400 and 1,900 meters by local smallholder farmers, these Castillo and Caturra cherries are washed and processed locally before undergoing decaffeination, all without ever leaving Colombia.
That last detail matters. By decaffeinating at origin, this lot avoids the environmental cost of shipping green coffee overseas for processing, supports local value chains, and arrives fresher and more traceable than most decafs on the market. The method used, Sugarcane EA, is a big part of why this coffee works so well.
The process
The caffeine in this coffee is removed using the Sugarcane Ethyl Acetate (EA) process, a gentle, naturally derived method that uses a compound found in fruit, wine, and beer, produced here from molasses, a byproduct of local sugarcane production.
The process is precise and deliberate:
- Green beans are steamed at low pressure to open their pores.
- They are then immersed in a solution of water and ethyl acetate, which selectively bonds with caffeine molecules while leaving the coffee's essential flavour compounds intact.
- After 8 hours of careful extraction, the beans are rinsed and steamed a second time to remove any trace of the solvent.
- The coffee is then gently dried to 10–12% humidity, with a natural wax sealing the bean and locking in aroma without altering cup integrity.
The result is a decaf with 97% of its caffeine removed (around 5 to 10 mg per cup) processed using less water than traditional water-process methods, with no synthetic waste. The sugarcane EA process is particularly well-suited to lighter roasts, known for preserving fruity acidity, floral notes, and natural sweetness. All of which you'll find here.
The cup
Sweet, smooth, and disarmingly good. A decaf that makes its case quietly and completely.
Almond cookies set the tone: warm, buttery, and immediately comforting. Milk chocolate follows with a gentle richness that runs through the cup, while pear adds a soft, ripe fruitiness that lifts the whole thing. A whisper of vanilla rounds out the finish, sweet, clean, and lasting.
The kind of coffee you reach for at any hour. That's the whole point of Starlight, and this edition delivers it as well as any we've had.