Producer Toolkit: Decaf - Why it's so hard to find good decaf

Why was decaf so bad for so long, and why is good decaf still so hard to find? In the final episode of The Coffee Producer Toolkit, we go inside a decaffeination plant in Veracruz, Mexico, to see what it actually takes to pull the caffeine out of a coffee bean, and why a farm needs around 50 hectares before single-origin decaf starts to make sense. Part of The Coffee Producer Toolkit, a series made in collaboration with Lucia Solis, it will help you understand coffee farming better than most professionals you'll meet at a trade show. Each episode takes one part of the farming business — agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales — and lays out what the best farms are actually doing. Related podcast episodes: James: Filter Stories: How Heat Transforms Coffee Beans Filter Stories: How to Be a Better Taster Follow us through our newsletters and Social media: Lucia's Newsletter James's Newsletter Lucia Instagram James' Filter Stories Instagram People mentioned in the episode: Gerrit Peters — 19grams / Grownd, Berlin, Germany Óscar Hernández — Finca Nogales, Pitalito, Huila, Colombia Óscar Hernández — Finca Nogales Instagram Pablo Salazar — Cafeología, Chiapas, Mexico Carlos Rendón — Finca Kassandra, Veracruz, Mexico Sergio de la Vequia — Mexico Demetrio Arandia, Daniel Robles and Ignacio Martínez — Descamex, Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico Melissa de Gasperín — Rancho San Felipe, Veracruz, Mexico Ernesto Pérez Orea — Grupo Cafetalero APG, Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico Communal Coffee — Berlin, Germany Resources: James Hoffmann's Decaf Project Photo of the raw caffeine at Descamex (James's Instagram) NCA National Coffee Data Trends 2025 Perfect Daily Grind: Does decaf deserve better? Lucia's Fermentation Training Camp Coffees cupped before and after Descamex's Mountain Water Process: Brazil Sierra Negra, Peru SHB, Mexican SHG RFA, Colombian Organic JAS, Sumatra Mandailing G1, Ethiopia Sidamo G2 Cover Art: Nick Hafner The Coffee Producer Toolkit is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: The Coffee Quest | BWT water+more | Descamex | InterAmerican | Pinhalense | Novonesis | GrainPro Use ProfilePrint to find the coffee your customers loved last year (without a week of cupping!). Use promo code "FILTER" to get 10% off your first year of a Mini Beluga subscription. Click here to discover ProfilePrint's many uses. Support hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers with Fairtrade. Discover how here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off. Meet the Mazzer Super Jolly g, the iconic grinder that's got even better. Click here to learn about its super fast grinding, bump protection, and 100th-of-a-gram accuracy. Elevate your cafe's menu with Prana Chai: whole leaf tea sourced direct from farmers, blended with fresh whole spices, sweetened with honey. Request a sample here. Support Filter Stories at Ko-Fi.com/FilterStories