Hi all,

Great site and great info on here!

I am new to the world of espresso but want to learn all I can.

Because of a health issue, I cannot drink any caffeine.

So, what this means is, I am looking for some KILLER micro roasted decaf espresso beans.

I have tried the house blend decaf at The Conservatory of Coffee in Culver City, CA ( very close to where I live) and I really liked it!

Please recommend some of your favorite decaf micro roaster blends to me.

Thank you so much in advance,

Steve

PS: Im open to all that you recommend, my palate is open and looking to try many different beans...thanks!

1) Welcome to HB.
2) Why would we hate you?
3) In general, check out this List of our Favorite Roasters.
4) In specific, you might want to try this, this, this, this, or this (presented in alphabetical order).

Cheers,
Jason

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The hate me thing was a joke because I just assume you all think decaf drinkers are wimps...

I haven't had caffeine in 25 years and don't miss it one bit. But I certainly look forward to tasting all kinds of new espessos. I guess for it's about the taste and not the jolt.

Again, thanks for the links!

Steve

I just got the stumptown decaf blend, and was surprised at how good it is. I had been expecting decaf to be unappetizing, but I was very wrong.

And a lot of us here like decaf for shots later in the day, nothing wimpy about being able to drink more coffee and still sleep!

Don't the decaf varieties still have small amounts of caffeine? Something to check if you need strictly 0mg, or can handle a negligible amount (I read someplace decaf espresso can have about 10mg of caffeine).

A small amount I can handle...

I don't think my wife, friends or my heart could handle more.

Thanks for the recommendation and health warning!

Socalsteve wrote:The hate me thing was a joke because I just assume you all think decaf drinkers are wimps...

We don't drink coffee to get buzzed; we drink it for taste. The problem is most decaffeinated coffees lack taste.

The good news is that this is not due to the decaffeination process itself, but due to almost all decaffeinated coffees being third rate or worse from the outset, with or without their caffeine. However, the roasters listed in our favorites thread actually send out their better coffees to be decaffeinated. So while I have yet to see decaf batches of the very best, prize winning coffees; you can now get decaf versions of some excellent coffees just below that level.

The selection is small. Sadly, most decaf drinkers seem unwilling to distinguish between health, morality and taste; but there are enough with actual taste to create a niche market.

2nd the redbird decaf espresso, really good stuff though it has a very light color when brewed. I drink it as a straight shot in the evenings sometimes but mostly make lattes with it, which are great.

Also like the decaf espresso from PTs.

If your health condition prevents you from ANY caffeine, even decaf may not be suitable. A typical decaf drink still contains caffeine, about 10-30mg, compared to about 80-150mg of the regular version. Here was my post from coffeegeek with reference:

http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee...ast/453866

Jim, I think that the decaffeinating process does take away from the taste. As i drink more and more coffee, I like Decaf less and less. I have heard that the water processing is actually more detrimental than the older chemical process, but have never compared them directly.

sweaner wrote:Jim, I think that the decaffeinating process does take away from the taste. As i drink more and more coffee, I like Decaf less and less. I have heard that the water processing is actually more detrimental than the older chemical process, but have never compared them directly.

It's important to compare the same actual coffee decaf and regular. If you do this, you will find that the decaffeination process does ding the quality a little, but not by too much (maybe 2.5 points out of 100). As far as I can tell, the different processes are equally good.

Also, decaf needs to be roasted to a lower finishing temperature with lower drum or environment temperatures, and with faster roast times (this is especially true of the water process beans); which for most roast setups means lowered batch sizes.

Some of our favorite roasters do all this, but nobody else would dream of it. Given all these ways decaf can be screwed up, the large majority of it ready to buy is completely undrinkable.