Balthazar_B wrote:Apologies if this is an utterly conventional and boring suggestion, but lately I've been enjoying Counter Culture's Slow Motion decaf.

https://counterculturecoffee.com/shop/c ... low-motion

If you can find it fresh, it's a quite nice comfort blend. Easy to pull on a Robot for affogatos at night.

No this is an excellent suggestions. I am setting up an espresso machine for the first time in two years where I live so I was going to be looking for a decaf espresso suggestion soon. I had this several years ago as drip and enjoyed it. I'll have to try it again for espresso. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm back to decaf full-time.

Find the EA sugarcane process to impart a curious banana note that I'm not into, so am steering clear of those, otherwise I'd definitely be sampling the Howell recommended by Scott Rao.

Speaking of Rao, the more I delve into specialty decaf, the more I suspect he's right about most craft roasters not taking it too seriously, which is super unfortunate for those of us unlucky enough to be relegated entirely to which.

Based on my previous experience with decaf, seems one of the biggest challenges is keeping the stuff fresh, and if I recall, not even a deep freeze can extend its life for longer than a week and a half. This aspect alone could necessitate home-roasting for me.

I just ordered Cat and Cloud's "Friend Zone" decaf, which is apparently a natural process Sidamo, mountain water process, and apparently pretty well liked by decaf-drinkers. Thoughts on that one forthcoming.

I've also been hearing pretty great things about Onyx Coffee Lab's Medellín, a SWP decaf. I'll be trying that next.

Any new suggestions for lighter SO decaf (for filter) appreciated.

Thanks for reviving this thread. I was going to post the other day but wasn't sure there was any interest.

I really think you should reconsider the EA. The one from Howell is excellent. I am just finished Heart's EA Colombian which was also good. Not my favorite but good. Somehow they pushed the lightness and acidity too far for me. I ordered a Colombian, Ethiopian, and Guatemalan at the same time. The Ethiopian was also too bright and acidic for me. The Colombian and Guatemalan were excellent.

Please do post back with your thoughts about C&C's. I wasn't super crazy about their "The Answer" but it was fairly early in to their venture. And thanks for the rec for Onyx. I'll probably try that next too.

Regarding C&C's Friend Zone:

Ordered it on Amazon as I was out of coffee and was able to have it overnighted for four dollars. Figured C&C had the logistics sorted to the point where it would be a week old at worst. But no. Roast date was 12/31/18. Emailed them about it, expecting to hear back today.

Okay, so with the caveat that it's three months post-roast out of the way, it's a natural process Sidamo, so not surprisingly, the main note is blueberry. The stuff's stale, yeah, but somehow still palatable, which is surprising. Creamy body as you tend to find with these SWP coffees. Not a whole lot of complexity or acidity going on. Mostly tastes like a blueberry bagel.

Hopefully can get them to send me a fresh bag and I'll be able to properly review the stuff. Based on the three month old bag I got, I'm going to guess Friend Zone is pretty great fresh, especially if you're into blueberry-bombs.

I just bought a bag of World Market's Italian blend and have been really happy with it.

https://www.worldmarket.com/product/24- ... rom=Search