Never had decaf coffee – what’s it like? (nudge nudge)

Doram

The idea that I could have more than two coffees a day, or that I could drink in the evening without risking a sleepless night, together with the recommendation for a decaffeinated coffee in the ‘Cheap beans’ thread, got me tempted to order some.

However –

I usually can’t stand replacements, even when many claim they taste just like the real thing. For example: all soft drinks that contain any amount of sweetener, even if it’s just in addition to sugar – taste foul to me. I won’t drink (or eat) anything with sweetener in it.

Or non-dairy milk – some people swear it tastes like milk. Had a guest who brought some fancy ‘barista’ oat milk with her. I managed to steam it, even do some latte art, but when I tasted a flat-white made with it – it tasted like oat milk, not like coffee (so I would prefer black). It’s not for me. And don’t even get me started on ‘cheese’ they put on a vegan pizza… (no offence intended. Can’t argue with vegans – they are better people than me. But I would rather have something that isn’t supposed to have cheese [or milk, or eggs], than most things with replacements that “taste just like the real thing”).

So for those of you who are men of the world, who have been around and tasted decaf coffee – what’s it like?

dfk41

I often choose to drink decaf over normal coffee. It honestly, is no more complicated than drinking normal coffee but without the caffeine! I suspect the caffeine does not add a great deal to the process. Decaf tends to be roasted a little darker. A lot of roasters are quite hopeless at roasting decaf, thinking that all it needs is a couple of extra minutes! I have had some really good decafs over the years. Have a look here
https://www.decadentdecaf.com/
They only sell decaf and have a good choice with descriptions. I also often drink Extract Sugarcane, Smith Street Five Arches and many others……but, if you like a medium plus roasted bean, you would do well to try that cheap one you refer to! The advantages are many…..!

MediumRoastSteam

I tried a few, and I can’t get on with anything. I even tried expensive stuff from Square Mile decaf, to the recommended decaf here from Extract. I even tried roasting some myself.

They simply don’t work for me in terms of taste.

It’s the sort of thing that it’s nice to have a small bag in the freezer for when you had that lovely dinner and don’t want to have a sleepless night that follow. But if decaf was my only option to drink on an everyday basis, for me personally, I think I’d give up coffee all together.

Likewise for non-alcoholic beer, or non-alcoholic wine.

It’s simply not the same in terms of taste. For me at least. I know that some people swear blindly by those, but I’m definitely not a convert.

Inspector

I can tell if I drink a non alcoholic beer but I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference when I drink decaf coffee. Especially as a latte/flat white.

Give it a go to that decaf in cheap beans topic also add Guatemalan beans to your order(if you like medium roast), it wouldn’t disappoint I think.

LMSC

Three of us at home drink decaf in the evening and if required at night. It lacks the kick and punch, which we get from standard coffee. The decaf selection is very small and expensive beans don’t go thru’ the process; some think for reasons of the decaf processing losing all the good flavours, while a few thinks the decaf process will make the expensive SO more expensive.

I like the sugarcane from Extract Coffee, Carbonated from Smith Street and Swiss Water from Blackcat!

Based on your description, I am not hopeful you will love the decaf. :-)

-Mac

I’m exactly the same with artificial sweeteners in drinks but decaf coffee is not comparable at all. Neighbourhood Coffee’s “(I can’t get no) Caffeination” is excellent and I prefer it to many a ‘normal’ coffee I’ve tried.

drdre89

Mastering the art of brewing decaf right will dramatically improve your barista skills. The trick is to grind finer than what you normally would. And also use the decaf beans atleast 14 days after roast.

Thebomber

Unfortunately the arrival of a new machine coincided with a need to reduce caffeine so I have also been drinking decaf recently - so enjoying this question and the replies it’s generated. Thank you all.

My experience so far has been that good decaf is still good coffee, just missing something (obviously). It’s not like the analogies given as nothing extra has had to be added to make up for sugar/alcohol/caffeine, so there’s no need to try and match the flavour of the original with the substitute. I do find I love the way I can have as many as I want in a day.

As others have noted it’s necessary to grind finer and in my (so far) limited experience, two weeks is the minimum storage time before drinking. My kilo from Horsham roasters must have been over a month old before it was finished and some of the last cups were the best. But maybe I was just getting used to the machine 🤔 ?

LMSC

Thebomber We always rest the decaf for at least 3 - 4 weeks before vac packing (if a KG) or brewing it.

MediumRoastSteam

LMSC We always rest the decaf for at least 3 - 4 weeks before vac packing (if a KG) or brewing it.

My experience with decaf was the opposite: they go stale a lot quicker than ordinary coffee, to the point that I could taste (and see) the difference even after a couple of weeks.

wilburpan

FWIW, I can taste the difference between the various types of Coke and the caffeine-free versions. There’s a slight bitterness that’s missing in the caffeine-free versions, so I think that caffeine must have a distinct taste.

So I would expect that decaf coffee would taste somewhat different from the regular version, even if they are the same beans, and even if the decaffeinating process didn’t otherwise affect the taste.

Platypus

I find it unmemorable, all sadly lacking.

dfk41

MediumRoastSteam Got to disagree with you matey. Firstly, it depends on the bean and the roaster. A lot of decaf is not good due to the reasons mentioned. But you can find a good tasty one, then it is down to your individual skill sets! I am drinking a really cheap bean that I will not name because I want to keep it to myself……>LOL As espresso, americano or in milk it is really really good…….but someone with less barista skills than myself, might not get a decent result, or their tastebuds might be better or worse than my own (!)

LMSC

MediumRoastSteam I haven’t noticed any difference, tbh. I vac pac after 3 weeks. It’s 125g pack; once opened, the beans go into one Jam Jar for freezing. I drink mainly Americano and my wife flat white.

MediumRoastSteam

dfk41 Got to disagree with you matey

that’s fine! But… I wasn’t on about taste. I was on about how long they last “fresh” before it goes stale. Do you disagree that decaf goes stale quicker than non-decaf given the same roast date and packaging by the roaster?

I always said and will say again that taste is subjective, so if you like what you drink, fantastic. I don’t question that (and never did).

dfk41

MediumRoastSteam Yep……the beans I am drinking do not have a roasted on date, just a use by or best before. I bought three kilos and did not bother vacuuming them as I normally would. I am on the second bag, splitting it between 2 × 250 a one 500 gm container. A kilo lasts about 16 days, and to my subjective taste they are fine. BE the end of this week before I open the third bag and that will tell me whether or not to vacuum the next lot!