This exceptional low-caffeine offering from Finca Nogales tells a powerful story of family heritage, resilience, and cutting-edge processing. Unlike most lower caffeinated coffees, this lot retains its vibrant and complex flavour profile through a meticulous, natural extraction method followed by a unique sourdough fermentation.

The Innovation: Low-Caffeine & Sourdough Fermentation

Producer Oscar Fernando Hernández honours his family’s visionary legacy by transforming Nogales into a modern center for coffee research. This low-caffeine process focuses on flavour preservation:

1. Preparation & Extraction: Ripe cherries are meticulously selected and prepared. The beans are immersed in hot water (80°C) to open the pores. A natural solvent derived from coffee pulp is then introduced, repeating the process three times to remove approximately 95% of the caffeine while preserving inherent flavour compounds.
2. Sourdough Fermentation: The truly unique step involves a 4-day (96-hour) fermentation using a specialized sourdough starter. This starter culture, collected from previous batches and stored at a controlled 18°C, dramatically enhances the coffee’s complexity, resulting in vibrant, candy-like notes.
3. Drying: The process concludes with an 8-day controlled drying period to ensure perfect moisture stability and flavour integration.

The Heritage: Finca Nogales

Finca Nogales was established over 80 years ago by Ricardo Hernández and Concepción Castillo. Their dedication led to the farm winning First Place in the Cup of Excellence in 2005, a testament to their commitment to quality.

After the tragic loss of his father, Ricaurte Hernández, in 2013, Oscar Fernando stepped up to honour his legacy. With a background in environmental management, Oscar continues the family tradition of entrepreneurship and humility, driving sustainable practices and technological innovation while conserving the farm's natural environment. 

Learn more here.

Coffee Profile

Forget everything you know about low-caf coffee. The true magic of this coffee is its exceptional flavour—it simply doesn't taste low-caf.  The challenge: Find the difference between this and your favorite full-caf. With flavour so exceptional, it’s one of our staff's current top 3 coffees, proving that quality, intention, and great taste define this lot.

Tasting: Stewed Fruits and Brown Sugar. Pleasant clean finish.