El Vergel Condor Decaf

About the Coffee

El Vergel sits in Fresno, Tolima at 1,950 meters, where the Herrera family has been growing coffee since 1992. The farm spans 90 hectares, with 60 dedicated to coffee and the rest preserved as native forest. Elias Herrera runs the operation with his children, treating it as an experimental lab where they test everything from fermentation methods to new varieties.

This decaf uses the sugarcane EA (ethyl acetate) process, where green coffee is steamed to open the beans' pores, then soaked in a solution made from fermented sugarcane. The EA binds to caffeine molecules and pulls them out while leaving the coffee's flavor compounds intact. The beans are steamed again to remove any remaining solvent, then dried back to their original moisture content. The Herreras send their coffee to Colombia's Descafecol facility for this process, which removes 97% of the caffeine while keeping the coffee's character.

El Vergel processes coffee in small batches using controlled fermentation tanks with temperature monitoring and pH testing. They separate lots by variety, processing method, and fermentation time, then cup every batch to track what works. The farm has its own nursery where they propagate experimental varieties and maintain a seed bank of traditional Colombian cultivars.

About Rogue Wave

David Laville and David Walsh founded Rogue Wave in Toronto in 2016 after spending a decade talking about opening a roastery. They started with the goal of making a living through coffee. Ply Pasarj joined as a partner in 2018, and the team has grown from 3 to 12 people who handle everything from roasting and sourcing to running their cafe.

They focus on direct trade relationships when possible and source all their equipment based on user experience and innovation. The team tests coffees extensively before adding them to the lineup, roasting on a Loring Smart Roast to profiles that highlight what makes each coffee distinct. They rest all coffee after roasting before releasing it to customers, and they make sure coffee isn't left sitting outside in Canadian winters where temperature swings can damage it.