Decaf Eye of the Tiger is a seasonally evolving espresso blend that features in-seaso coffees. This version is built around a coffee with a unique blend of sweet and savory flavor characteristics from the Butihinda Washing Station, located in the Muyinga region of northern Burundi. Butihinda is one of seven washing stations owned and operated by Angèle Ciza, a Burundian woman who has worked in the coffee industry for 25 years! Angèle’s company, Kalico, invests in local environmental and social initiatives including a scholarship program that pays school fees for young girls. This coffee is the result of a collaboration between Kalico, Phyllis Johnson of BD Imports, and RGC Importers called Rotheca Project. The initiative was organized to support women-producers, who own or manage80% of Kailco’s partner farms.

For balance and body, we included a pair of coffees from two of the world’s most distinguished producing countries. The first was grown by smallholder farmers in the Popayán region of western Colombia. This coffee helps to bring the characteristics of the blend’s other components into balance by adding a smooth body and caramel-like sweetness. We like it so much that we have featured it as a single-origin offering in the past! The other comes from the Minas Gerais region of Brazil, and is a blend of natural and pulped-natural lots. Its’ subtle fruit-toned chocolate and nutty flavors add complexity and depth to the blend, and together these coffees create a delicious espresso that pairs well with milk yet can stand on its own.

We originally developed this seasonal decaffeinated espresso for our cafes, where we continue to serve it in all seven Bay Area locations. We think of it as a delicious espresso that just happens to be decaffeinated. All components are decaffeinated using the water processed method.

While there are many variables that contribute to dialing in espresso, here are the parameters that have been yielding the best results in our lab:

18 grams in, 33 grams out, 24-26 second extraction.