Colombia Huila Decaf

About the Coffee

This lot is a field blend from ten small-parcel producers farming in San Agustin, Huila, one of Colombia's most productive coffee regions. The farms sit between 1,500 and 1,900 meters, and the blend is made up of three varieties: Caturra, Colombia, and Castillo. The coffee is fully washed before going through the E.A. (ethyl acetate) decaffeination process at origin.

E.A. decaffeination uses ethyl acetate, a solvent that occurs naturally in sugar cane and many fruits. In Colombia, sugar cane is grown in abundance, which makes this method a practical fit for the region. The process starts by steaming the green beans to open their pores, then applying E.A. dissolved in water to draw out the caffeine. Once the caffeine is separated, the beans are steamed again to remove any residual solvent, then dried and shipped. The whole process avoids the high heat and pressure used in some other decaf methods, which can damage the bean's cellular structure and strip out flavor. One trade-off: because the beans are steamed to open their pores, they do age a bit faster than non-decaf green coffee, both before and after roasting.

Detour roasts this coffee light-to-medium, and the roast profile was developed specifically to work across brew methods, whether you're pulling espresso, using a pour over, or brewing in a French press.

About Detour

Detour started in 2009 out of a back alleyway in Dundas, Ontario. The founding idea was straightforward: coffee should be fun, and if it isn't, why bother. That framing has shaped how they approach sourcing and roasting ever since.

When it comes to buying coffee, Detour focuses on three things: the relationships they build with producers, traceability through the supply chain, and the quality of the final product. On the roasting side, they work in small batches on a Loring roaster, which uses convection heat to produce a clean, consistent roast. The goal is to bring out what's already in the bean, not to impose a house style over it.