Meet Sol y Luna: The Half-Caff Coffee Built for Better Sleep

We all know the feeling. It's 4pm, the afternoon slump hits hard, and you're reaching for another cup of Small Batch coffee; only to find yourself staring at the ceiling at midnight wondering why you can't switch off. The culprit? Caffeine that's been quietly overstaying its welcome.

Sol y Luna gives you the afternoon coffee you want, without the sleepless night you don't. 

What Is a Half-Caff Coffee?

A half-caff is precisely what it sounds like; a 50/50 blend of fully caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. The result is a cup that delivers real coffee flavour and a gentle lift, but with roughly half the caffeine of a standard brew.

Sol y Luna is our take on this idea. It brings notes of Braeburn apple, buttered toast, and roasted almonds.  All the complexity you'd expect from a speciality coffee, without the late-afternoon caffeine gamble.

The Two Coffees Behind Sol y Luna

Every great blend starts with exceptional components. Sol y Luna is built from two carefully chosen Colombian coffees, one fully caffeinated, one decaffeinated, that share the same origin but serve very different roles in the cup.

The Caffeinated Half: Colombia Peñas Blancas

The caffeinated foundation of Sol y Luna is our Colombia Peñas Blancas. A single origin from La Argentina, in the Huila region, grown at altitude between 1,700 and 1,900 metres above sea level.

This coffee comes from the Peñas Blancas Central Washing Station, a collaborative project bringing together coffee-growing families under the vision of young producer Néstor Lasso and his colleague Jhoan Vergara. Rather than small, scattered lots selling individually, the families pool their ripe cherry harvests and process them together through a rigorous, carefully monitored system, controlled fermentation, clean washing, and slow, even drying that lets the character of the terroir shine through.

The result is a medium-roast coffee with a beautifully syrupy body and notes of caramel, raisin, and winter spice. It's the kind of coffee that rewards you with warmth and depth. A natural partner for the cooler half of the day.

The Decaf Half: Decaf El Buho (Sugarcane Process)

The decaffeinated half is our Decaf El Buho; another Colombian, this time sourced from farming communities in the Huila and Tolima regions, grown at 1,800 metres above sea level.

What makes this decaf special is how the caffeine is removed. El Buho uses the Sugarcane Decaffeination process; also known as the Ethyl Acetate (EA) method; which is widely considered one of the most natural and flavour-preserving approaches available. Ethyl acetate is a naturally occurring compound found in fruit and sugarcane; it's used to gently bind to and draw out the caffeine, leaving the bean's flavour compounds largely intact.

The beans are first steamed and soaked in water to open up their structure, then bathed in the ethyl acetate solution to remove the caffeine, before being rinsed and carefully dried. The outcome is a decaf that tastes just as delicious as any other like coffee. With notes of ripe yellow stone fruit, toffee, and milk chocolate, rather than the flat, slightly woody flavour that inferior decaf processes can produce.

Why These Two Work Together

Both coffees are Colombian, both are washed process, and both are grown at high altitude, which means they share a foundation of clean, bright acidity and natural sweetness. Blended 50/50, they complement rather than compete, creating a cup that's layered and satisfying without the caffeine load of a full-strength shot.

Why Caffeine and Sleep Don't Mix Well

Caffeine works by blocking adenosine receptors in your brain, the receptors responsible for making you feel sleepy. The problem is that caffeine doesn't disappear the moment you finish your cup. Its half-life in the body sits at around four to six hours, meaning half of what you drink at 4pm is still circulating at 10pm.

Research published in Sleep Medicine Reviews found that a standard cup of coffee needs to be consumed at least 8.8 hours before bedtime to avoid meaningful reductions in total sleep time. For a 10pm bedtime, that means your last full-strength coffee should be before 1pm. Cut that caffeine content in half, and the window opens up considerably. Letting you enjoy a proper coffee in the afternoon without paying for it at night.

Data from the Sleep Foundation suggests that around 88% of people who consume caffeine in the afternoon report at least one sleep problem. Yet so many of us reach for that 3pm flat white out of habit or necessity.

Half-Caff as a Sleep Hygiene Tool

Sleep hygiene, the set of habits that support consistent, quality rest, has become one of the fastest-growing wellness topics. From blue-light glasses to weighted blankets, people are investing more than ever in protecting their sleep. But one of the simplest changes is often overlooked: rethinking your afternoon coffee.

Switching to a half-caff in the afternoon is a low-effort, high-reward habit. You keep the ritual, the flavour, and a gentle boost, while giving your body a much better chance of winding down naturally come evening. Think of Sol y Luna as your coffee that knows when to leave the party.

The Sun and the Moon in Every Bag

The name says it all. Sol the sun, energy, your morning espresso. Luna  the moon, rest, the part of the day you need to protect. Sol y Luna is designed to bridge those two worlds, so you don't have to choose between enjoying great coffee and getting a full eight hours.

Whether you're brewing it as an espresso, a flat white, or a long black, it's the coffee you can reach for at 4pm with a clear conscience.

Try Sol y Luna

Available as a subscription or as part of our gifting bundles, Sol y Luna is the coffee for those who take both their coffee and their sleep seriously.

Because one good habit shouldn't have to cost you another.