Decaf Coffee

For most people, no — with over 99% of the caffeine gone, decaf is the natural pick for the afternoon, the evening, or anyone cutting down. Sensitivity does vary, so the small amount of trace caffeine affects some people more than others.

Essentially, yes. Both are water-only processes that remove caffeine without chemical solvents. "Swiss Water" is a trademarked version of the method, so water-process decaf from Latin America is often labelled "Mountain Water" instead — you'll see Colombian or Mexican Mountain Water. The principle is identical: green coffee is soaked so its flavour compounds and caffeine dissolve into the water, the caffeine is filtered out, and the flavour is returned to the beans. We buy both methods depending on availability over the year.

Sugarcane decaf — sometimes called EA decaf — uses ethyl acetate, a compound derived from fermented sugarcane that also occurs naturally in ripe fruit. The beans are steamed to open their pores, then washed in the EA solution, which bonds to and lifts out the caffeine. It tends to preserve sweetness and fruit character especially well, and because most of it happens at origin the coffee is decaffeinated fresh. We stock it when we find a lot worth featuring.

Decaf coffee has come a long way, and today - more natural methods are used to preserve the flavour of the coffee beans and bring the end product to you. We only sell coffee that has been processed using one of the natural methods and when available we also offer an Organic certified decaf coffee. We tend to favour methods like Swiss Water Decaffeination, CO2 and the E.A Sugarcane method. 

The process alters the colour of the coffee and typically decaffeinated coffee beans will be darker in colour than regular beans.

Typically the decaffeination process will cause some changes in the flavours found within the coffee. We select decaf coffee beans that have been produced from high-quality speciality coffee, helping preserve sweetness, balance and flavour after decaffeination. This means that there are still great flavours and tasting notes to be found in the coffee even after the decaf process.

The Swiss or Mountain Water process tends to produce a decaf with less acidity and a more traditional flavour profile of chocolate, nut and gentle fruit acidity. The Colombian E.A. process will often produce a brighter, fruitier coffee especially if applied to a natural processed coffee.

The decaffeination process is very effective and will typically remove over 99% of the caffeine. The Swiss Water Process promises removal of 99.9% percent resulting in almost completely caffeine free decaf coffee beans.

Yes they do! Although our standard decaf coffee beans do taste fantastic they are more similar to a traditional lower acidity coffee from origins like Brazil.

Sometimes we are able to find higher cup score decaf coffees that have been produced from more interesting vibrant, higher cup score coffees. After decaffeination many of these flavours remain resulting in a higher cup score. One good example is a natural processed Castillo varietal from Jairo Arcila in Colombia.

Decaf is a common choice during pregnancy because it contains only trace caffeine — typically over 99% is removed. It isn't completely caffeine-free, though, so if you're keeping a close eye on your intake it's worth a quick word with your midwife or GP. We go into the numbers in our guide, How Much Caffeine is in Decaf Coffee?.