Here's how we brewed the first decaf coffee to win the US Brewers Cup, roasted by Houston’s BlendIn Coffee Club!
BlendIn founder Weihong Zhang used this coffee to win the 2024 US Brewers Cup, a major achievement for a decaf coffee. It was uniquely processed: the beans were soaked in their own mucilage and fermented with Ethyl Acetate, gently removing caffeine and producing a fruity and floral complexity. We tasted eucalyptus, strawberry, and raspberry.
🌎 Origin: Huila, Colombia
⚗️ Process: Coffee Mucilage EA Decaf
🔬 Variety: Typica
⛰️ Elevation: 1,750 MASL
🔥 Roast: Light-Medium
Brew Recipe for BlendIn Los Nogales Decaf Typica
Using Stagg X Dripper
Ingredients:
22g of Ethiopia Ardi Natural
300g of water
5g hot water bypass following the brew
194°F
Steps
1. Measure and grind coffee at a medium-fine setting
Measure out 22g of coffee beans and grind them on a medium to medium-fine setting. We used setting 4 on Ode with SSP Burr / 3 on Ode with Gen 2 Burrs, which is about 2 on Ode with Gen 1 Burrs. Suggested setting on Opus is between 4 and 4.2- and note that the inner ring was set to 0 at 4 for us!
2. Heat water and rinse the filter
Heat water to 194°F and rinse your filter before putting your coffee grounds in.
3. Pour 50g water for the bloom
Fully saturate your coffee grounds with 50g of water, and allow 45 seconds for the bloom.
4. Continue pouring in four stages
After the bloom, pour to 150g; then when the water is approximately 0.5 in above the bed of grounds, agitate with 5 gentle swirls, then pour to 250g; once water drains halfway, pour to 300g. The total brew time varies, but we’re aiming for a longer amount of water contact time with this coffee!
5. Decant into your favorite mug and enjoy!
Make sure to add 5g of hot water directly into your brewed coffee once you decant into your mug (this is what we call “bypass”). Look out for the incredible flavors of eucalyptus, strawberry, and raspberry.
Using V60 Mugen Dripper + Hario Switch
Ingredients:
15g of Los Nogales Decaf Typica
200g of water
5g hot water bypass following the brew
180°F bloom / 194°F second + third pulses
Steps
1. Measure and grind coffee at a medium-coarse setting
Measure out 15g of coffee beans and grind them on a medium to medium-coarse setting.
2. Heat water and rinse the filter
Heat water to 180°F and rinse your filter before putting your coffee grounds in.
3. With your switch valve closed, pour 50g water for the bloom
Fully saturate your coffee grounds with 50g of water, and allow 40 seconds for the bloom.
4. At 0:40 seconds, pour up to 200g at 194°F
After the bloom, pour to 200g with your switch valve closed.
5. Open Switch valve at 2:10
Open your Switch valve at 2:10, and then close again at 3min.
6. Decant into your favorite mug and enjoy!
Make sure to add 5g of hot water directly into your brewed coffee once you decant into your mug (this is what we call “bypass”). Look out for the incredible flavors of eucalyptus, strawberry, and raspberry.
Espresso
Ingredients:
18g of the same coffee
45g of water at 200°F
1:2.5 ratio
24-26 second pull time, with 5 seconds preinfusion at 3 bars
Steps
1. Measure and grind coffee
Measure out 18g of coffee beans.
2. Make sure your espresso machine is at temp.
Water should ideally be at 200°F.
4. Grind your coffee
We suggest a brew time of 24-26 seconds.
4. Preinfuse your shot for 5 seconds at 3 bars, then pull for 24-26 seconds.
With preinfusion, the total shot time should be 24-26 seconds.
5. Decant into your favorite demitasse cup and enjoy!
Let us know what flavors pop out in your espresso. We suggest stirring with a small spoon before tasting to integrate all layers of the ‘spro
**Thank you to the BlendIn team for collaborating with us on the Brew Guide this week!