The Coffee Producer Toolkit #8: Decaf

Support the show on Patreon to help us keep making new episodes. In this eighth episode, we give you a practical manual to take your coffee into the fast-growing market for decaf. We look at what it takes to decaffeinate coffee yourself on the farm. Then, we take you inside the Descamex plant in Veracruz, Mexico, to see how the Mountain Water Process works at scale, from steaming and osmosis to slow drying and in-house caffeine testing. We cover what decaffeination does to flavor: a mellowing of intensity, aromas that sometimes come forward, harsh coffees softened, and a "spa effect" that can bring tired, baggy coffee back to life. We also look at which of your lots to send first, and which to keep away from decaf. And we finish with the practical stuff: five-tonne minimum batches and why you should find your buyer before you commit, sharing a container and splitting a lot across smaller buyers, booking six to nine months ahead, what it costs, and why you should pass that cost on rather than swallow it. Hosted by coffee journalist James Harper (Filter Stories podcast) and fermentation specialist Lucia Solis (Making Coffee with Lucia Solis podcast), it's built for farmers who want to run their farm like the business it is. Over two years we interviewed 50+ producers and experts across 20 countries. Each episode takes one part of the business — agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales — and lays out what the best farms are 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 | Descamex | InterAmerican | Pinhalense | Novonesis | GrainPro Support the show Support the show