This coffee's story 

This Red Bourbon decaf is produced by Wilton Benítez at La Macarena, located in Piendamó, Cauca, Colombia, at an altitude of 1,900 meters above sea level.

Wilton Benítez is the founder of Granja Paraíso 92 and co-founder of IÓ Coffees. His work focuses on microbiology, fermentation and the development of controlled coffee-processing methods. These methods involve managing different stages of processing, including the selection and preparation of cherries, the use of specific microorganisms during fermentation and the control of drying conditions.

For this particular lot, the Red Bourbon cherries undergo a processing method involving two separate fermentation stages. The first takes place while the coffee is still in cherry form, followed by depulping and a second fermentation using the juices recovered during processing.

After fermentation, the coffee is washed and dried under controlled temperature conditions before undergoing sugarcane decaffeination. The coffee comes from the 2026 harvest and has a reported SCA score of 89.5 points.

Processing 

The process begins with the manual harvesting of ripe coffee cherries, followed by sorting according to size and density. The selected cherries undergo two sterilisation stages, first using ozonated water and then ultraviolet light, to remove impurities before fermentation.

The whole cherries are fermented for 48 hours using Saccharomyces pastorianus yeast. After this first fermentation, the cherries are depulped to remove the outer skin. The coffee then undergoes a second fermentation lasting 68 hours, during which natural juices produced during cherry fermentation are incorporated into the process.

Following fermentation, the coffee is thoroughly washed and dried at a controlled temperature of 38°C for 48 hours. Once dried, the beans are decaffeinated using the sugarcane method.

According to the producer's processing document, the use of Saccharomyces pastorianus during fermentation contributes to the coffee's flavour profile, while the incorporation of natural juices influences its taste and quality. The double sterilisation process is intended to maintain cleanliness and preserve the integrity of the beans.