The difference is in the kick! This makes a huge difference MRS! I do not know if you drink beer. If you do, get a can of Brewdog’s Hazy Jane and Triple Hazy. The difference in these two us in alcohol content and flavour. I love both, but more of the triple hazy. I guess the same applies for coffee. Certain standard bag has more oomph than others - like light roasts vs medium roast. I find Brazilians are too mild. Liking a decaf is like that.
Please try a bag of Extract Coffee’s sugarcane decaf and Smith Street’s Five Arches. The best so far IMO.
Unless one can prove the significant loss of flavour or otherwise, neither no one is wrong. I would tend to think nothing significant is lost as opined by most of the roasters. We need a solid evidence to prove otherwise.
I am puzzled why expensive coffee beans don’t go through the decaf process. I can’t blindly assume the risk of losing lots of flavour is the reason. The decaf is an expensive process. This will make the expensive beans decaf cost prohibitive.
MWJB It’s a shame we are really limited in decaf choices.