I normally have 2 coffees a day, one in the morning and 2pm afternoon … and found with the espresso blend (medium roast) I use with a Niche grinder, I do have trouble sleeping with the caffeine hit. Because if I have no coffee for a day or two I sleep perfectly fine. Am wondering if anyone has found decaf beans that taste great but without the caffeine hit. And what process is best ? .. Swiss mountain, Mountain water etc … any thoughts on decaf would be great. Thanks

@drdre89 A lot of us go through the decaf stage. I did several years ago, and the result is that I still quite ofter buy it. The first myth, is that it does not have to taste inferior to caffeinated stuff. The secret is to find a bean that you like. That is obvious of course, so let me tell you my experiences. I bought decaf from many many roasters. I found that a lot of roasters had no idea (several years ago) how to get the best out of the bean. This is in the same way that a roaster who normally produces lighter roasts may have no idea that to skilfully roast a darker bean, you simply turn up the heat and give it an extra 2 mins! My preference is for fuller flavour so I drink medium to medium plus beans, and I find for me, a lot of decaf is best roasted that way. The different processes you mention are to do with extracting the caffeine and they broadly fall into two areas, washing with water and more scientific ways! Extract do a sugar cane decaf. For the strnger taste I find it amazing https://extractcoffee.co.uk/shop/sugarcane-decaf/ It used to be if you visited the home page and scroll down towards the bottom, subscribe to their mailing list you would quickly receive a 30% off voucher. I have also enjoyed decaf from Rave and Coffee Compass, along with Decadent Decaf (google them) who only roast decaf Good luck matey!

Since about a year or so we buy Colombian excelso decaf from coffeelink. Used to buy mahogany sucker punch hit from coffee compass which tasted like a real thing what you after I believe :) Dfk41 is quite experienced with decaf beans also, extracts decaf was also very very good. Reason we settled with coffeelink is when they do %25 off we buy a kg and this makes it very cheap.

I used to like Union’s decaf blend- https://unionroasted.com/collections/decaf/products/decaf-blend Quite rich and full bodied- I agree that medium + roasts tend to taste better as decaf on the whole.

I have just finished Rave Columbian El Carmen decaf and have loved it. Wouldn’t normally buy decaf but it was gifted to me. It’s the first decaf I have tried but I would buy it again.

4W5 I have just finished Rave Columbian El Carmen decaf How did you use it? I have my first bag of this and on my first go the other day I certainly did not nail it😒! Beans are small and roasted quite dark and on my general v60 grind setting it came out much finer than I expected and stalled.

I thought the beans were pretty much the same size/colour as all the others I have bought from Rave in the past. I just chucked some in the grinder and used my usual setting and they were fine even though they were right at their use by date. Could get the chocolate and vanilla tasting notes. There was another tasting note that I didn’t get, can’t remember what it was now. I enjoyed them anyway. (Used them for espresso mainly and a couple of milk based drinks. Not sure if that was the info you were looking for).

I’ll give’em a go in the robot!👍

Best DECAF coffee that tastes like the real thing?

drdre89

I understand decaf beans stale alot quicker than regular beans. I do plan on single dosing 18g in mini mason jars and putting them in the freezer. Then grinding the beans frozen in my Niche Zero for espresso.

4W5

drdre89 I was thinking about freezing 18g doses of regular and decaf coffee in small ziplock bags so I can switch between the two since I don’t drink a huge amount - can’t really manage 2 bags on the go at once. Guess this could work.

dutchy101

@dfk41 put me onto the Extract’ssugarcane decaf a few months ago and it is without doubt the best decaf we’ve had. And by some margin. My wife has stopped drinking caffinated coffee and has this instead

Del_UK

4W5

I used the same when the other coffee drinker was trying to avoid caffeine for a few weeks. They were really good! I used them for espresso and they produced a great smooth and sweet cup.

LMSC

Extract coffee sugarcane decaf
Rave’s El Carmen
Rave’s Villamaria

Mutepost

Extract Coffee sugarcane decaf - £30.40kg - My favourite
Clifton Coffee Roasters Colombia sugarcane decaf - £18.50kg - Great everyday drinking and a good price

drdre89

So do you guys think sugarcane decaf is superior to Swiss Water / Mountain Water process ?

DavecUK

drdre89

Ethyl Acetate (from fermenting sugarcane, or artificially produced) is one of the two chemical processes to decaffeinate coffee (the other is Methyl Chloride) below is a very good article on decaffeinating coffee

https://coffeeconfidential.org/health/decaffeination/

Mutepost

DavecUK Ethyl Acetate (from fermenting sugarcane, or artificially produced) is one of the two chemical processes to decaffeinate coffee (the other is Methyl Chloride) below is a very good article on decaffeinating coffee

https://coffeeconfidential.org/health/decaffeination/

I think this is a really good and concise explanation of the main processes and makes the Swiss Water Process appear to be the one that, in theory, will retain the most flavour. I haven’t come across many small batch roasters that have a Swiss Water offering - I need to do some searching. The thing that concerns me most about SWP is that there is only one processing plant in the world that does it and it’s based in Canada - and that’s a long round trip for an Ethiopian bean!

-Mac

Neighbourhood Coffee’s '(I can’t get no) Caffeination’ is delicious.

winterlight

I’m not sure I’ve ever had a decaf coffee with as much flavour/complexity as regular coffee, but I did have Cartwheel Coffee’s Legoman decaf over Christmas and really enjoyed that. It’s got a citrussy edge which may not be for everyone though…

DavecUK

Mutepost I think the CO2 process can also result in some really good coffees.