Earmuffs for Elephants – Decaffeinated – Sample
A cosy, single-origin decaf from the Nueva Segovia region in Nicaragua. This one’s like a hug-in-a-mug: snug flavours of sticky buttered malt loaf combine with sweet Bramley apple, mixed nuts and citrusy bursts of fresh orange.
Freshly Roasted with Fast & Free 1st Class Delivery.
-
Tastes Like
Imagine tangy-tart baked Bramley apple topping a slice of malt loaf, sticky with raisins and dark brown sugar. Then add a little sunny-bright orange zest to finish…
Oh, wait, you don’t need to imagine… that’s just what this coffee tastes like! Dive in! -
How to Brew
While this coffee tastes awesome in every device, our favourites are a filter or cafetiere.
If you want to know more, see our brew guides for making coffee.
-
Behind the Scenes
Julio and Octavio Peralta grow this awesome coffee on El Bosque, their family farm. El Bosque is something of a hidden gem. Snuggled away in the dense green forests of San Fernando, in the Nueva Segovia region, it enjoys top-notch coffee growing conditions. Coffee has been in the Peralta family since the early 1900s, and in 2008 they started experimenting with pioneering new methods. These are coffees you don’t want to miss!
Nicaragua grows some stellar coffees today, but harvests haven’t always been easy. Political disturbances meant that coffee growers had a difficult time in the late 90s, and a drought at the turn of the millennium presented further challenges.
Nicaragua’s farmers persevered, however, and have gone from strength to strength in recent years. They place an exceptional focus on quality and maintain very high levels of traceability. Their coffees tend to showcase fruit flavours and treat us to a clean, complex acidity.
And it gets better! Because the Nueva Segovia region, where this coffee is grown, is deemed one of the country’s best! Awesome! -
Scores on the Doors
To gain Speciality Coffee status, the coffee has to receive a score of 80 points or higher. The points are made up using an array of attributes such as the smell, acidity, and mouthfeel to name a few. To taste all of these attributes, Q graders use a coffee cupping process; a pure and exact method to taste coffees.
Intrigued about coffee cupping and want to find out more? Check out our guide to Cup like a pro. you can even give it a go at home.
When we receive our coffee beans, they are green and unroasted. We ensure that the roastery’s moisture and humidity are optimised to keep the beans at their very best.
To roast, we build a profile for each coffee to bring out the beans’ natural flavours. We never over roast, and so you will never taste bitter or burnt flavours in the cup. Only sweet, smooth and creamy notes prevail.
-
Roasting
Speciality coffees are bursting with amazing natural flavours, aromas and body. Each bean is different from the next; not only in taste but also in moisture, density and size. With this in mind, we roast each coffee differently to suit all of the above.
We build a roast profile (recipe) for each coffee and we roast by hand and in small batches to bring out the very best in each bean. We freshly roast multiple times each week to ensure you receive the best and freshest coffee each time.
The coffee farmers do us proud with their amazing harvests, and we want to continue their amazing work when roasting.
-
The Decaffeination Process
In 1967, Kurt Zosel investigated new ways to separate mixtures of substances. From this initial research, the sparkling water techniques that are now used were born. They have been used to decaffeinate coffee since 1988.
This natural and pure process uses naturally occurring carbon dioxide combined with water to create a subcritical condition. While doing so, the conditions create a solvent substance for caffeine in coffee.
The carbon dioxide gently draws the caffeine molecules away from the beans, and the process is continued repetitively until the beans can be classed as caffeine-free. This process is gentle on the coffee to not take away the natural flavours and aroma of the beans. It’s organically certified too.
-
The Nuts and Bolts
Roast Style: Light and Fruity
Farmer: Julio & Octavio Peralta
Varietal(s): Catuai
Decaffeinated processing method: Carbon Dioxide Process
Altitude: 1250 – 1560 metres above sea level
Country: Nicaragua
Certification: Speciality and Rainforest Alliance
What does this all mean? Check out our Jargon Buster.What does this all mean? Check out our Jargon Buster.
-
Why buy speciality coffee from us?
The coffee farmers produce amazing coffees, and they deserve thanking for that. To ensure that they get the price they deserve; and money to spend on investing in their farm for the future, we pay between 30 and 150% more than the going rate for speciality coffee than that of commodity coffee.
Without you drinking our freshly roasted coffee, we couldn’t do this. So it’s all down to you lovely peeps – high five!
-
Where does the name come from?
Where does the name come from?
Nellie’s not keen on caffeine today. In fact, she doesn’t even want to hear the word. Time to get those earmuffs out…
Oh, wait, she doesn’t need to. Because she’s found an awesome, Sparkling Water Process decaf instead! Sorted!
