Semi decaf - Low caffeine

Finca Fatima, Mexico — 1,260 Masl

This coffee comes from Finca Fatima in Mexico, grown at 1,260 meters above sea level. "Finca" is simply Spanish for farm or estate — a naming convention used across Latin American coffee origins to identify a specific property rather than a blended or anonymous regional lot.

The varietal is Typica, one of the oldest cultivated coffee varieties in the world and the ancestor of a huge share of the varieties grown today — Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, and many others all trace back to Typica lineage in one way or another, even though Typica itself has largely been replaced on many farms by higher-yielding descendants. Growing straight Typica rather than a newer hybrid is a choice that favors cup quality and traditional character over yield.

Processing is washed: ripe cherries are pulped to remove the fruit before the beans are fermented and dried, a method that generally produces a cleaner, less fruit-forward cup than a natural (dry) process would from the same beans. That clean base is part of what makes this coffee a good candidate for its half-caf treatment — a simpler, washed flavor profile has less to lose when some of the bean's character is inevitably altered during decaffeination of the blended portion.

Caramel, Raisins, Dates

This cup is gentle and sweet: caramel up front, dried-fruit raisin and date notes filling out the body, and a smooth, low-acid finish. It's a comforting, dessert-adjacent profile rather than anything bright or fruity — well suited to a slower afternoon cup rather than a jolt of a morning coffee.

Body is medium and acidity is soft, which is typical of washed Typica from a moderate mid-altitude like this one. The raisin and date notes in particular read as classic "brown sugar" register flavors, the kind that hold up well whether the cup is taken black or with milk.

A Flexible, Everyday Brew

This coffee's soft acidity and dried-fruit sweetness make it forgiving across brew methods rather than demanding one specific technique.

Drip or Pour-Over

Ratio: 1:16. Grind: Medium. Water temperature: 200°F (93°C). A clean cup that lets the caramel and date notes come through without much fuss.

French Press

Ratio: 1:15. Grind: Coarse. Steep time: 4 minutes. Full immersion brings out a bit more body, which suits this coffee's mellow, low-acid character.

Storage and Freshness

Keep this coffee whole-bean in an airtight container away from light and heat, grinding only what you'll brew right away. A half-caf coffee is a blend of two different bean lots, and blended coffees in general are worth grinding fresh each time rather than all at once, since the two components can stale at slightly different rates once ground.

Did You Know

• Typica is likely the single most genetically important coffee variety in history. Nearly every widely grown Arabica cultivar today — Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, Mundo Novo, and dozens more — descends from Typica or from a cross involving it, even on farms that no longer grow Typica itself.

• "Finca" just means farm. It's a standard Spanish-language term used across Mexico and Central America to name a specific coffee property, similar to how "estate" is used in English-speaking origins — it isn't a certification or a special designation on its own.

• Half-caf coffee is typically made by blending decaffeinated coffee with regular caffeinated coffee rather than by partially decaffeinating a single batch — a practical way to land somewhere between full-caffeine and caffeine-free without inventing a new process from scratch.

• Washed processing is generally the more water-intensive of coffee's two main methods. Pulping and fermenting cherries before drying uses more water than drying whole cherries in the sun, which is one reason washed coffee is more common in origins with reliable water access, like the highland regions of Mexico.

What is semi-decaf or half-caf coffee?

Semi-decaf, or half-caf, is coffee positioned between fully caffeinated and fully decaffeinated — typically made by blending decaffeinated coffee with regular coffee so the final cup carries noticeably less caffeine than a standard pot without eliminating it entirely.

How much caffeine does this coffee have compared to regular coffee?

Most of the caffeine naturally present is removed, though we don't publish a specific caffeine figure for this blend. If you want a coffee closer to caffeine-free, our fully decaffeinated Late Night Decaf is the better fit.

What does semi-decaf coffee taste like?

This one cups gentle and sweet, with caramel, raisin, and date notes and a smooth, low-acid finish — closer in character to a mellow washed coffee than to the flatter profile some fully decaffeinated coffees can have.

What is Typica coffee?

Typica is one of the oldest cultivated Arabica varieties and the genetic ancestor of a large share of the varieties grown worldwide today. It's generally prized for cup quality and traditional character rather than high yield.

Where does this coffee come from?

It's grown at Finca Fatima in Mexico, at 1,260 meters above sea level, from washed Typica trees — a specific named farm rather than an anonymous regional blend.

Is this coffee organic-certified?

This particular listing doesn't carry an organic certification. If certified-organic matters to you, see our organic-certified Mexico Semi-Decaf, grown on the same farm.