Granja Paraiso 92 Decaf Espresso

About the Coffee

Wilton Benitez runs Granja Paraiso 92 in the Cauca Valley of Colombia, and he's become one of the more talked-about producers in specialty coffee for good reason. His farm sits at around 1,750 meters and focuses heavily on controlled, experimental processing, treating each lot more like a lab project than a standard harvest. He works with a small number of carefully selected varieties, and the Colombia variety used here is one he's spent years refining.

The processing on this coffee happens in two stages before decaffeination even begins. Whole cherries go through an initial fermentation with added yeast, then a second fermentation using mosto, which is juice pressed from fresh coffee fruit. Those two steps build complexity into the bean itself. After that, the coffee is decaffeinated using the sugar cane method, a process common in Colombia where ethyl acetate derived from fermented sugar cane is used to strip caffeine without stripping much else. It's a gentler approach than most industrial decaf methods and tends to leave the natural character of the bean more intact.

Monogram has been working with Granja Paraiso 92 for two years. This decaf lot is a result of that ongoing relationship, and it's offered as an espresso-specific roast with a recommended dose of 19 grams in and 40 to 42 grams out over 30 to 36 seconds.

About Monogram

Ben Put, Justin, and Jeremy started Monogram in Calgary after meeting as baristas early in their careers. The three came from different backgrounds, music, health sciences, and development, but landed in the same place through a shared interest in specialty coffee. Their first setup was a hand-built coffee cart. Their first cafe in Altadore opened in 2014. Ben has since won the Canadian National Barista Championship seven times and placed third at the 2025 World Barista Championship.

Monogram builds long-term relationships with producers rather than spot-buying on the open market. Their sourcing includes names like Jamison Savage at Finca Deborah, the Lamastus family at Elida Estate in Panama, and Mariana Iturralde's team at Finca Takesi in Bolivia. The Granja Paraiso 92 relationship fits that same pattern: two years in, and they're still finding new things to release from Wilton Benitez's farm.