DECAF - Always Sleepy

About the Coffee

Sucafina Colombia works with smallholder farmers across four of Colombia's most productive coffee-growing regions: Cauca, Tolima, Antioquia, and Eje Cafetero. Farms sit between 1,400 and 2,100 meters above sea level, where the altitude slows cherry development and builds more complex sugars in the bean. Sucafina's model connects these producers directly into integrated supply chains, giving farmers more consistent access to buyers and more stable pricing than the open market typically offers.

The coffees are fully washed before going through Sugarcane EA decaffeination, a method that uses ethyl acetate (EA) derived from sugarcane fermentation. The process works by moistening the green beans with water and circulating EA through them. The EA binds selectively to caffeine molecules and pulls them out, while leaving the other flavor compounds largely intact. It's a gentler approach than some older decaf methods, and because the EA itself comes from sugarcane, it's a naturally sourced solvent rather than a synthetic one.

Thom Bargen blends this lot under the name Always Sleepy, drawing on multiple Colombian origins to build a consistent, approachable decaf that holds up year-round. The 5lb format is the same coffee, just packaged for home brewers who go through decaf regularly.

About Thom Bargen

Thom Bargen was founded in Winnipeg by Thomas Hanington and Graham Bargen. What started as a single cafe has grown into one of the more respected roasting operations in the prairies, built around direct sourcing relationships with producers they've visited in person. Jason, Thom, and Graham have traveled to farms in Central and South America to taste coffees at origin and buy lots they believe in, rather than sourcing through brokers at arm's length.

Their approach to decaf follows the same sourcing logic as the rest of their lineup. Always Sleepy isn't treated as a secondary product. It pulls from the same Sucafina Colombia supply chain they rely on for quality washed Colombian coffees, just routed through a decaf process they trust to preserve what makes those beans worth buying in the first place.