Origin 20 | Brewing Atlas Decaf

We look for high acidity, but approachable flavours like caramel, butterscotch, and just lightly fruity. The decaf process calms acidity, so starting high means we have enough acidity to support a complex profile and the result is a well-rounded final cup. Our Atlas coffee presents notes of apple and chocolate with a caramel sweetness.

Set up by our Director of Coffee, Freda Yuan, we collaborate with a local exporting partner in Colombia for our Atlas initiative, which involves exclusively purchasing coffees from female producers. The cooperative's quality control team, which is also comprised of females, shortlisted a selection of lots that meet our desired profile to create this beautiful coffee for us. Contributed to by 10 producers, their passion for coffee shines through in the final cup. While the composition of producers will change seasonally based on productivity and quality, the profile will always remain consistent; always sweet, balanced and uncompromisingly delicious.

Atlas is decaffeinated using an all-natural Sugarcane process. It involves pressurising and expanding the coffee beans with light steam, before it is rinsed in Ethanol Acetate, an organic compound created by the fermentation of non-GMO Colombian sugarcane. Mountain water and steam are then added to remove any remaining caffeine before the coffee is dried. The sugarcane process not only helps to preserve most of the original flavours of the coffee, but it actually enhances the overall profile.The carbon footprint of Atlas is significantly lower when compared to other decaffeinated coffees, due to the entire process taking place in Colombia.

“For me, a classic espresso brew recipe really serves the Atlas Decaf, that’s an extraction time of 28-32 seconds, with a total espresso weight of 32g. I drink it black with hot water, but the balanced, smooth profile means it also tastes delicious with milk. By choosing a lower yield weight for this espresso recipe, the resulting coffee cuts clearer through the milk, bringing forward more acidity and sweetness."