Jimma Natural MC Decaf Gr. 1

The Jimma region in southwestern Ethiopia is known as the birthplace of coffee. The story of the famous goatherder, Kaldi, is thought to take place in Jimma.

Farming methods in Jimma remain largely traditional. Most farmers in the region farm on fewer than 5 hectares (many counting their coffee farms in terms of trees rather than area). Cultivation methods are traditional for the most part, with coffee being grown as part of an integrated ‘coffee garden,’ intercropped with other food crops. 

In addition to remaining traditionally intercropped, most farms are also traditional and organic-by-default. Farmers in Jimma typically use very few—if any—fertilizers or pesticides. Most farm work is done manually and very few tasks are mechanized, even during processing.

The majority of coffees grown in Jimma are local landrace varieties (which are often also called Ethiopian heirloom). Other varieties grown in the region were developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC). JARC is an important research center for Ethiopia and has done a great deal of work on developing disease resistant and high yielding varieties that still demonstrate quality in the cup. 

Due to the size of most plots, coffee is typically handpicked by landowners and their family.

All coffee is selectively hand-harvested before being delivered to a collection center or directly to the washing station. At the washing station, coffee is sorted to remove damaged or underripe cherry. Cherry is then delivered raised beds to dry under shade for 10-14 days until moisture content reaches 12%. During this time, the cherry is regularly turned and hand sorted several times to remove any damaged or discolored cherry. This level of labor and love results in a truly exquisite cup profile. 

The methylene chloride (MC) decaffeination process is relatively simple. The coffee beans are moistened with water and MC is circulated throughout. The MC binds with the caffeine in the bean and extracts it while leaving most of the other flavor compounds. After the desired caffeine level is reached, the MC residue on the beans is removed by steaming them.

Because MC is not naturally occurring in plants, the resulting decaffeinated coffee cannot be labeled as “naturally decaffeinated.” However, MC has been determined by several health organizations not to be a health risk in amounts under 10 parts per million (PPM). In MC decaffeinated coffee, MC remains in amounts under 1 PPM. Further, MC is highly volatile and evaporates at 40 degrees C. Considering the high temperatures of roasting (about 204 degrees C) and brewing (about 93 degrees C) it is highly unlikely that any MC remains in the final beverage.