Manhattan – El Vergel Decaf 250g | Colombia

El Vergel Decaf is back on the list, and it remains one of the more convincing arguments that decaf doesn't have to mean a flavour compromise. This lot comes from El Vergel Estate in Tolima, Colombia, and goes through the EA Sugarcane Decaffeination Method — a process that strips out the caffeine using no synthetic chemicals, which means the coffee holds onto far more of its original character than older decaffeination methods typically allow.

The farm itself has a story worth knowing. El Vergel began life in 1995 as an avocado operation, run by the parents of the Bayter family, and for over a decade that's exactly what it was — eventually becoming one of Colombia's most productive avocado farms. Everything changed in 2006, when disease wiped out avocado prices and forced a rethink. Between 2009 and 2010, Martha Bayter made the decision to diversify into coffee, planting Catimor, Red Caturra and Yellow Caturra while learning an entirely new crop from scratch.

What followed was a steady climb into specialty territory. The family taught themselves pulping and fermentation, and a chance connection with Nelson Moya — a coffee enthusiast who introduced them to proper processing equipment — pulled them further into the world of specialty coffee. Their work earned Rainforest certification through Colombia's Federación Nacional de Cafeteros between 2014 and 2015, and by 2016 they'd met Miguel Jimenez, a specialist who helped them plant Geisha, Java, Pacamara, Red Bourbon and Laurina alongside their existing Caturra. The first harvests of those varieties came in 2017.

El Vergel has kept modernising ever since. 2018 brought advanced natural processing methods — aerobic and anaerobic fermentations — along with dedicated storage silos, positioning the farm firmly among Colombia's quality-focused producers. Today the Bayter family runs ongoing research into bacteria and yeast management to fine-tune fermentation, and they've earned a genuine first: El Vergel is recognised as the first coffee farm in Colombia to develop the Koji fermentation process, a technique that's reshaped how some of their green coffee is produced. The farm now grows more than 28 distinct coffee varieties.

This particular lot is built from Red and Yellow Caturra, grown at 1,450 MASL, and processed as a Natural before undergoing the sugarcane decaffeination. In the cup, expect sweet baked apple, prunes and dark chocolate, with a silky, smooth mouthfeel.

Freshly roasted by Manhattan Coffee Roasters in Rotterdam and imported to the UK by ROAST EDIT Co.