Dream High – Colombia
Process- Decaf (Sugarcane Process)
Variety- Pacamara
A decaf that doesn't feel like one — soft papaya and raspberry up front, with a warm ginger spice on the finish. Full of character for a coffee with the caffeine removed, thanks to a variety built for depth: Pacamara, a large-bean hybrid of Pacas and Maragogipe prized for carrying both fruit intensity and body.
Taste profile- Mollasess, raspberry jam, date hint of ginger
Origin & Story
This coffee comes from Finca Zarza, a small family farm in the hills of Bruselas, Huila, Colombia (1,550–1,800 masl), grown by producer Jhonatan Gasca alongside his brother Johan. Jhonatan grew up in a coffee-farming family in Pitalito, Huila, and pursued a career in soccer before returning to the land — studying ecological agriculture and refining the farm's approach to specialty coffee. Finca Zarza has since become known for two standout varieties, Pacamara and Pink Bourbon.
Pacamara itself has a notable backstory: it's a deliberate cross of Pacas and Maragogipe, developed in El Salvador in the late 1950s to combine Maragogipe's oversized bean with Pacas's more compact, productive plant. The result is a variety known for big, dense beans and a cup that carries both bright fruit and real weight on the palate — qualities that come through even after decaffeination.
We haven't yet visited Finca Zarza in person, so consider this an introduction — we're excited to share more of Jhonatan and Johan's story as we learn it.
To remove the caffeine, this lot goes through Colombia's sugarcane (EA) process: fermented sugarcane molasses produces natural ethyl acetate, which is gently circulated through the steamed beans to bind with and extract the caffeine, leaving the coffee's sugars and flavor compounds largely intact.
Handled with care through this process, this lot stands out for:
Pacamara cherries selected at peak ripeness at Finca Zarza before processing
Natural decaffeination using ethyl acetate derived from fermented sugarcane, without synthetic solvents
Careful drying and sorting to protect the bean's natural sweetness and clarity post-decaffeination
The result is a decaf that keeps Pacamara's fruit-forward sweetness and gentle spice, proving skipping the caffeine doesn't mean skipping the flavor.
I also caught that the main Offer List sheet still listed the variety as "Caturra" for this coffee — fixed it to Pacamara and updated the producer field to "Finca Zarza (Jhonatan Gasca)" for consistency.