Always Delicious: Decaf Mexico Esmeralda

Although the amount of decaf coffee we roast accounts for less than 5% of our total annual production, it’s our mission to ensure decaf is always delicious. We often say that decaf drinkers are some of the toughest coffee critics we’ll ever come across, because they drink coffee purely for its flavor.

Since we only offer one decaf option (at least for now), we diligently taste through many samples before carefully selecting which will be featured on our menu. Firstly, we know whatever we choose has to be a coffee that decaf aficionados will enjoy. Secondly, it has to be an approachable coffee; one that can transcend coffee drinkers on either side of the caffeine debate and those with various preferences across the spectrum. We need a true crowdpleaser.

Over the last two years, we’ve featured coffee from Finca Las Marias in Esquipulas, Guatemala, where we selected and purchased regular green coffee (the same coffee we’ve used seasonally in our Short Strand blend) and sent it to Swiss Water for decaffeination. It’s a fun project for us to choose a washed coffee for decaffeination, and we hope to continue it with Finca Las Marias in the future. However, like many other farmers in Guatemala, Finca Las Marias experienced a low-yielding harvest in 2025 due to weather conditions that affected the growth of coffee cherries. So for now, we’re putting our decaf project on hold.

Although we’ll miss the easy-going, chocolatey decaf coffee from Finca Las Marias, we’ve found another coffee that’s just as sweet and soothing. Our decaf Mexico Esmeralda comes from Royal Coffee, one of our partner importers. It includes a selection of quality coffees from hundreds of smallholder farmers in various regions, including Chiapas and Oaxaca. 

Once the coffees are selected and sorted, they are blended and prepared for the sugarcane natural decaffeination process, also known as ethyl acetate (EA) decaffeination. Ethyl acetate is a naturally occurring organic compound found in sugarcane molasses fermentation, and is also naturally occurring in fruits like apples and pears.

Green coffee is steamed to open its cellular walls, then placed in a tank with ethyl acetate solvent. The coffee is agitated for eight hours to help wash out the caffeine. Ethyl acetate is a selective solvent that binds to caffeine and not much else, allowing the coffee to retain its original flavors.

Our Decaf Mexico Esmeralda is balanced and smooth with just a touch of brightness. We taste apple, shortbread, and Dutch cocoa powder. It’s perfect for any time of day and pairs well with dessert, but personally, I like drinking it when I feel like I’ve had enough caffeine for the day but still want to have coffee!