Descafecol is the only decaffeination plant in the Andean region of Colombia. The plant relies entirely on the pure water of Navado el Ruiz (a snow-capped volcano on the border between the Caldas and Tolima departments) and natural ethyl acetate from sugar cane plants in Palmira, Colombia. Ethyl acetate is a sweet-smelling organic compound (C4H8O2) - it is formed during fermentation and contributes to what is often called the 'fruitiness' of a young wine. At Descafecol, the decaffeination process begins by steaming green coffee at very low pressure to remove the silver shell. The beans are then moistened with hot water, which swells and softens, triggering the hydrolysis of the caffeine that binds to chlorogenic acids (hydrolysis means that water interacts with a compound and gets rid of other particles.) The ethyl acetate solvent is then circulated repeatedly through the beans until at least 97% of the caffeine is removed. Low pressure saturated steam is then applied to remove the residual ethyl acetate and finally the coffee is dried in a drum under vacuum to remove the water and adjust the final moisture content to 10-12%. The coffee is cooled to room temperature by fans and then polished with Carnauba wax to protect it from moisture. Region: Cauca Altitude: 1500 - 2100 m Variety: Arabica / Colombia, Caturra,Castillo Harvest: April - July Processing:Washed Decaf: SugarCane E.A. Certification: Specialty