Decaf

Here at Ozone, we're always on the lookout for tasty and delicious decaf. It can sometimes be a little tricky to get our hands on, but we aim to always have at least 1 decaffeinated coffee available at all times, and the decaffeinated coffee we offer will change throughout the year. If you subscribe to Decaf then you will always receive our current fresh decaffeinated coffee and the specific farm will evolve and update depending on what's available over time.

We were one of the first roasters in the UK to move to Colombian Decaf when the Ethyl Acetate Decaf plant in Colombia started producing amazing quality coffees for the first time. Our Decaf range has been exclusively Colombian for most of the last 10 years - because, in blind tastings, the Ethyl Acetate Decaf coffees just proven more delicious than the CO2 or Swiss Water Decaf options which were available. The downside was that, as Colombia is a producing country, decaffeinating anything other than Colombian coffee was super tricky, so we had to work within those limits.

If you ask us for an all-rounder, good any time of day, crowd pleasing, easy to work with coffee, 9 times out of 10 we’d be talking about a Brazilian coffee. In the past, and there are bonus points on offer here if you can remember this, we previously tried a CO2 Decaf of Cachoeira da Grama and it was really good, so we've always been looking for a way to re-engage our decaf offering with Brazilian coffee.

In 2024 we were introduced to a Germany company which had started doing the Ethyl Acetate process of Decaf in Bremen. This gave us the opportunity to try what we’d always wanted - EA Decaf on a great Brazilian coffee.

The EA decaf process uses Ethyl Acetate, a naturally occurring compound found in fruits like sugarcane, to selectively remove caffeine. In Bremen, the green beans are first steamed to open their pores, then washed with EA, which binds to the caffeine molecules and extracts them. After rinsing and drying, the beans retain their aromatic complexity, sweetness, and body, making this decaf an excellent alternative for those seeking full flavour without the caffeine.

Why EA Decaf?
Compared to other decaffeination methods, such as Swiss Water or CO₂ processing, EA decaf is often preferred for its ability to preserve origin character and sweetness. It’s a gentler, low-temperature process that avoids the use of harsh solvents or excessive water exposure, which can strip away delicate flavour compounds. Because EA is derived from natural sources, it’s also considered a more sustainable and consumer-friendly option, especially when transparency and traceability are priorities.

From a food miles point of view, the impact is very small. The coffee was all delivered into Germany directly from Brazil, part of it was decaffeinated, and then it was all then sent on to us in the UK.

Located in the eastern highlands of Minas Gerais, the Matas de Minas region is one of Brazil’s most dynamic coffee-growing areas. Spanning 64 municipalities, it features a diverse landscape of mountainous terrain, with altitudes ranging from 900 to 1,400 meters above sea level. The region’s hot and temperate climate, with average summer temperatures around 18.7°C, and its Latossolo red clay soils, create ideal conditions for cultivating high-quality Arabica coffee. Coffee is the region’s main commercial activity, with over 275,000 hectares under cultivation and more than 36,000 producers, many of whom are smallholder farmers.

Above 1,000 meters, coffee farming is predominantly small-scale and family-run, with harvesting done manually or selectively due to the steep terrain. Micro-regions like Caparaó exemplify this approach, where multiple flowering cycles and staggered cherry maturation allow for selective picking that enhances cup quality.

This regional blend, featuring Red and Yellow Catucaí, Yellow Bourbon, and Caturra, reflects the terroir’s diversity and the craftsmanship of its producers.

Milk chocolate and biscuit make this a super easy drinking coffee which works any time of day. The aftertaste is toffee and brings you back for the next, oh so easy sip.

• Country: Brazil
• State: Minas Gerais
• Region: Matas de Minas
• Producers: Numerous smallholder producers of the region
• Varieties: Red Catucaí, Yellow Catucaí, Yellow Bourbon, Caturra
• Process: Natural
• Elevation: 900 - 1,400 m.a.s.l.
  
• Decaffeination: Sugarcane (EA) Decaffeination

Tasting notes: Milk chocolate, biscuit, toffee.

Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores

• Clean cup: (1–8): 6
  
• Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5
• Acidity: (1–8): 6
• Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6
• Flavour: (1–8): 6
• Aftertaste: (1–8): 6
• Balance: (1–8): 6.5
• Overall: (1–8): 6
• Correction: (+36): +36
• Total: (max. 100): 85

Roast Information
Medium: through the gap and let this develop a little in the gap, but don´t let the appearance catch you out, this needs pushing up to the edge of second crack to get the best from it.

A Note on Decaf Visual Roast Colour From Our Roasting Team
The decaffeination process, including Ethyl Acetate (EA), alters the physical structure of green coffee beans. EA decaf beans tend to:

• Lose some natural moisture
• Become more porous and fragile
• Develop a darker hue even before roasting

Because of these changes, decaf beans absorb heat differently during roasting. They often darken more quickly, and their colour progression can be misleading - turning brown or even dark brown well before reaching first crack. This means a medium roast decaf can visually resemble a dark roast regular coffee, even though the internal development is quite different.

Additionally, EA-decaffeinated beans may develop a shiny surface at lighter roast levels due to changes in oil migration and surface texture. While shinier, oilier beans are often associated with darker roasts in regular caffeinated coffee, in this case, it's a result of the decaffeination process, not necessarily the roast level.