About the Decaffeination Process
This coffee is decaffeinated with fresh mountain water by Descamex – a company the farms have been working with for many years now. This decaffeination does not involve any solvents.
First, the green coffee beans are placed in a steam bath to extract their soluble aromatic compounds and caffeine. The resulting water is then filtered to retain only the aromatic elements. This initial batch of coffee is sold at a lower price, while the aromatic water is preserved for use in subsequent batches.
In the next stage, new green beans are immersed in water baths containing the previously extracted aromatic compounds. Through osmosis (or diffusion), around 50% of the caffeine in these beans transfers into the bath, while the remaining 50% stays in the beans. This process is repeated until the caffeine content is reduced to between 0.01% and 0.02%.
About the Region
Chiapas, located in the southwest of Mexico, features a stunningly diverse landscape of coastlines, valleys, mountains, and tropical forests. Coffee is cultivated here at elevations between 1,300 and 1,700 meters above sea level. As one of Mexico’s leading coffee-producing regions, Chiapas accounts for 40% of the country’s total output. It also borders Guatemala’s renowned Huehuetenango region, an influence that can be tasted in the coffee’s aromatic profile.
The region’s climate supports rich and varied agriculture: in addition to coffee and cocoa, farmers grow bananas, corn, mangoes, honey, and sugarcane. Chiapas is also home to many indigenous communities – Maya, Tseltal, Tzotzil, Ch’ol, Tojol-ab, and others – who proudly preserve unique coffee varieties that have been cultivated for centuries. Most farms are family-run, and solidarity-based cooperatives are becoming increasingly common. It’s a region rich in cultural, culinary, and ecological diversity.
About the Cooperative
CABONOCH is a coffee cooperative based in northern Chiapas. Founded in January 2019, it currently includes 2,200 certified producers—46% of whom are women. The cooperative focuses on offering support, training, and technical assistance to its members, while helping them certify their coffee for both national and international markets.
