La Virgen · SwissDecaf

Colombia | La Virgen | Caturra / Castillo Washed | Swiss Water Decaf

Discount applies automatically at checkout — mix & match any espresso roast.

Heads up: this coffee is decaffeinated — perfect if you love the taste of coffee without the caffeine buzz. We take extra care when roasting our decafs to keep them sweet, balanced and full of flavour so you won’t miss a thing.

This coffee’s roasted in our espresso style — but that doesn’t mean you need to brew it as espresso. You can make it however you like — espresso, filter, moka pot, AeroPress or whatever you enjoy. We roast it a touch darker than we would a filter roast to caramelise the sugars and bring out smooth chocolatey and nutty flavours that cut beautifully through milk.

When you add milk the natural sweetness, fat and proteins tend to soften acidity and highlight caramelised flavours. That’s why lighter filter roasts can sometimes taste a bit sharp or sour with milk — they’re simply not built for it. Espresso roasts being more developed balance this out. The deeper caramelisation creates toffee and cocoa notes that blend harmoniously with milk’s creaminess while a hint of gentle bitterness adds that satisfying ‘coffee punch’ in your flat white or cappuccino.

If you prefer your coffee black this roast will still give you a full-bodied rich cup with plenty of depth and sweetness. For a lighter fruitier experience you might enjoy exploring our filter range instead.

Castillo is a Colombian-developed hybrid, designed for rust resistance and high yield. It includes genetics from Caturra and Timor Hybrid. While early versions were criticized for mediocre cup quality, modern strains can be quite good, with fruit-forward and balanced flavors, especially when grown at high altitudes.

Caturra is a dwarf mutation of Bourbon discovered in Brazil in the early 20th century. Its compact size allows for higher planting density and easier harvesting, making it a farmer-friendly choice. It retains much of Bourbon’s flavor characteristics but can be slightly less complex. It is commonly grown in Colombia and Central America.

Grape, red apple, round acidity, brown sugar sweetness, barley tea like finish

Colombia | La Virgen | Caturra / Castillo Washed | Swiss Water Decaf - When is peak flavour?

The Swiss Water® Process uses water, temperature, and time to gently remove caffeine, while preserving all the coffee’s original characteristics.

The green coffee, rehydrated to the target moisture level for decaffeination, is put into contact with a Green Coffee Extract (GCE). GCE is made out of fresh water and all of the soluble solids within coffee (minus the caffeine). The GCE is continuously circulated around the green coffee, triggering the diffusion process, which removes only the caffeine (the only element of imbalance) and none of the flavour components of the coffee. The process takes place over 8-10 hours until there’s no more than 0.1% of caffeine remaining. Caffeine is then removed from the GCE using a proprietary carbon filtration system, so that the GCE can be reused.

Coffee growers in Guadalupe are very traditional coffee growers. They work with their families and their communities to grow and produce coffee how they’ve learned through their lives from their parents and grandparents. Additionally, coffee growers in this region are very committed to the environment, some of them having achieved the Rainforest Certification. Each farm has their own wet mill and drying infrastructure or at least one per family in which they all share their spaces. They own farms with an average of 5 hectares. In the last few years, we’ve noticed an interest in improving their quality, changing some varieties and processes with the objective of achieving better quality for their coffee.

In Guadalupe, Caravela works with many aging producers. However, many of the sons and daughters of these producers are stepping up to support and continue with the family traditions with greater energy, innovation and care for the environment.

The coffee chosen by James Hoffmann in collaboration with Caravela is produced in La Virgen Guadalupe, in the department of Huila in Colombia, by a collective of independent producers.

Guadalupe is a small municipality in Huila, nestled along the skirts of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. Guadalupe is blessed with an abundance of water sources, including the Suaza River, which nourishes the fertile lands and sustains both the community and its agricultural bounty. The region’s water supply, combined with fresh, cool weather, creates ideal conditions for growing high-quality crops. Today, the hardworking people of Guadalupe make their living through cattle farming, river fishing, and cultivating crops like corn, beans, citrus fruits, and, most notably, coffee – one of the area’s most valuable resources.

Colombia is one of the world’s most iconic coffee-producing countries, known for its mountainous landscapes, rich soils and deep coffee-growing culture. Across the country, small producers grow coffee in diverse microclimates, creating cups that range from bright and fruit-driven to chocolatey, nutty and comforting.

This lot sits firmly in the classic Colombian style, sweet, clean, balanced and familiar, with the kind of profile that feels like home for many Colombian coffee drinkers.