Swiss Water™ Decaf Kenya Lenana
Process: Washed, Swiss Water Decaffeinated
Altitude: 1700 - 2300m
Roast: Medium
Strength: 3/5
Characteristics: Medium, creamy body with notes of caramel, chocolate, citrus and sweet fudge.
Swiss Water Coffee is decaffeinated 100% Chemical Free
Further Information: This coffee comes from numerous wet-mills in the 'Farmers Cooperative Societies' (F.C.S.) which are situated throughout 'Nyeri' and 'Kirinyaga' regions in Kenya. This lot is grown primarily by smallholder farmers who generally own an average of only 200 trees. They deliver their freshly picked ripe cherry to one of the many cooperative wet mills under the 'F.C.S.' umbrella. At the wet-mill, the cherry undergoes sorting prior to being pulped, fermented and washed. The coffee then undergoes sun drying on raised beds before the decaffeination process.
To prepare the beans for caffeine removal, they are first cleaned and hydrated with pure, local water; the beans are then introduced to an internally developed Green Coffee Extract (GCE), and caffeine removal begins.
The coffee is left to extract until the ratio of soluble compounds in the GCE to the compounds in the coffee reach the point of equilibrium. Caffeine and GCE flow continuously through carbon filters until all the caffeine is trapped and separated from the GCE, which is refreshed so that it can be used again and again to remove more caffeine. The process is monitored for around 10 hours until the coffee is 99.9% caffeine free.