OK - I just had a few shots of Luna Nuova decaf espresso blend from Caffe Fresco and I am very impressed. Very impressed. (Did I mention that I like the blend?)

The blend makes good straight shots (within the limits of my "barista" skills) with a nice creamy texture and decent body (not heavy or thick, but still very pleasant). Most decaf blends I have tried seem to have a sharp twinge but that is very muted in this blend.

Oh, and it is divine in milk. I made a 6 ounce cappa and it was so freakin' good I had to make another. This espresso seems to lend itself well to milk drinks...


So - does anyone else have any good decaf espresso experiences to share?

I find most decaf offensive to my palate but Schomer's Decaf Blend comes as close as I've seen to a respectable cup.

Sometimes I get requests for decaffeinated espresso from my wife's cappuccino-loving friends. If she's planning a get-together, I'll have Intelligentsia's Black Cat decaffeinated on hand. Once I was lamenting the sharp twinge Jon mentioned to Jim Schulman; he suggested grinder much finer and pulling a very tight ristretto (3/4 ounce double). That helped and I'll add my own suggestion for HX owners: Flush a couple extra seconds longer than for the regular of the same blend. The water sits in the heat exchanger longer during a slow pull and decaffeinated coffees don't appreciate the temperature boost. If pulled correctly and served in slightly less milk than usual, it's darn near indistinguishable from hi-test.

Continuing 1 step further if I may...I'm considering an order of a "green" decaf espresso blend for home roasting..., has anyone tried the decaf green espresso from Metropolis, Paradise, SM's Donkey?....any others would be welcome....sorry for the left turn, Jon!

IMAWriter wrote:....sorry for the left turn, Jon!

No problem! You might try the SM's Mokha Kadir blend (it's lovely).
Oh, and the decaf Brasil something-or-other was nice too.

JonR10 wrote:No problem! You might try the SM's Mokha Kadir blend (it's lovely).
Oh, and the decaf Brasil something-or-other was nice too.

Kadir is actualy full caffeine, Jon...

IMAWriter wrote:Kadir is actualy full caffeine, Jon...

Oops. I meant the Komodo Blend...
Also, I was able to make decent espresso using Decaf Colombian SO and Decaf Sumatra SO from Mitalena.

JonR10 wrote:OK - I just had a few shots of Luna Nuova decaf espresso blend from Caffe Fresco and I am very impressed. Very impressed. (Did I mention that I like the blend?)

Hmmm, i tried that blend a couple of months ago and wasn't that impressed, it seemed to suffer from the same bitter/chemically taste that a lot of decafs have, perhaps i was pulling at the wrong temp (i would of been in the 201-203 range), Jon, any idea what temp you'd be running at ?

I drink probably 60/40 caff/decaf, so am always on the lookout for good decaf, my 2 favorites so far would be
Zoka Quatro decaf - lots of caramel / chocolate flavors (pull @ 199-201).
Metropolis redline decaf - almost as good as the regular redline, but needs pulling at a lower temp that the regular, i go for somewhere in the 197-199 range, any hotter than that and it gets very bright very quick.

I have some deco decaf (and streamline) on the way from Victrola which i'm looking forward to trying out later this week

I'm not at all the decaf fan, but my wife's friends come over for Friday scrapbooking parties and they've come to expect it chez HB. I accede to their requests reluctantly, not only because decafs don't measure up to regular, but also because they're usually fussier in terms of grind.

Today before leaving our regular Friday morning rendez-vous at Counter Culture Coffee, Peter shared a bag of CO2 Decaf Organic Mexico with me. Tonight's very first pulls were unbelievably rich, crema-laden, dark, chocolatey full doubles. Worth drinking straight up, and undoubtedly will be killer as a machiatto... I'm outta here!

PS: My apologies to those far from North Carolina who would like to try it, Counter Culture is a local wholesale coffee roaster. The good news is that they have plans to seriously beef up their Internet presence in 2006.

HB wrote:Today before leaving our regular Friday morning rendez-vous at Counter Culture Coffee, Peter shared a bag of CO2 Decaf Organic Mexico with me

I had it last night, oh my, what a fantastic decaf! I never drink decaf, as a straight shot I find them all offensive, like bad wine. But that one tastes like regular non decaffeinated coffee. I am not sure if it is the CO2 process that made the difference, but bottom line it is a wonderful straight shot, rich in flavor and sweet. A perfect after dinner SO shot. CO2 Decaf Organic Mexico