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Terroir: Pitalito, 1750 metres above sea level
Farm: La Lomita, Martin Ortiz
Drying process: Raised beds
Expected notes: Raisins, Vanilla, Dark Caramel
Plants are essentially carbon metabolic factories. Through photosynthesis, they convert atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and water into carbohydrates, playing a crucial role in our ecosystems. Take the Amazon rainforest, for instance — it’s the world’s carbon sink, storing approximately 100 billion tons of carbon, including soils. Certain plant species also play a vital role in producing specific compounds required in food, the pharmaceutical industry, and both animal and human health.
Now, let’s talk about caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine). This unique plant product, also known as an alkaloid, serves as a natural insecticide within a selective group of plant species. However, when humans consume it, caffeine has a stimulating effect. It competes for adenosine receptor binding sites, exerting a stimulatory function. Studies using carbon isotopes like 14C enabled tracing of molecules such as caffeine in plant tissues, thus providing evidence of the metabolic factors involved in its synthesis and turnover.
Caffeine, naturally bitter to our palate, is found in lower amounts in Coffea arabica plants (around 1% of dry weight) compared to C. canephora (2 - 2.5%). Interestingly, variations exist even among distinct arabica varieties, like Laurina, which naturraly contains a lower amount of caffeine (0.6% of dry weight of green coffee beans).
As professionals with a background in science and academia, we found almost as imperative to include a coffee specially tailored for our scientific colleagues. Whether it’s tea, cocoa, pepsi-max, mate, or just coffee, our laboratory existence demands caffeine. During coffee breaks, seminars, conferences, or while hosting guest speakers, a sip of coffee is practically a must-have on our desks.
The 14-Caffeine coffee is a regional blend from the Huila state (Colombia) that features the importance of carbon and metabolic by-products in coffee plants. Regional blend means that coffee cherries produced by neighbour farms are picked, depulped and combined during post-harvesting processing. Our roasting profile stands out a caramel flavour, medium acidity and full-bodied cup which can be ideal to brew as a pour over coffee, in the cafetiere, or to load your bean-to-cup espresso machine.