Looking for a fruity lighter decaf for espresso

August 16th, 2021, 2:09 pm

basically what the title states, i've been trying to find a fruit forward light roast decaf for espresso. Looking for suggestions as so far i haven't been happy with anything I've tried. I don't like those old-school espresso well developed chocolate/caramel notes. Unfortunately due to some health issues I have to cut back on caffeine. So I've been having a caffeinated shot like 3 or 4 days a weeks, and then decaf shots like 2-3 times a day.

I don't care how it's decaffeinated, swiss water, chemicals, dark magic, it's all good.

My go to caffeinated beans are the Caffe Lusso Ethiopia Sidama. Very blueberry forward. Right now the best roast i've tried so far is the Decaf Ethiopian Sidama from Noble which was a pretty light roast, it wasn't bad, but the nutmeg notes weren't doing it for me at all... It'll probably be great for someone who drinks Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

#2: Post by **walr00s** » August 16th, 2021, 3:16 pm

My frustration with trying to find a fruity decaf led me to buying my own coffee roaster. I catalogued my search here: Recent sampling of decaf offerings as espresso

Overall, my favorites were from Brandywine and Camber, but those offerings have changed or are no longer available. They were not fruity the way that my favorite caffeinated coffees are, but they did have fruit notes and some other fun flavors like toasted graham cracker. I am currently enjoying https://www.sweetmarias.com/sweet-maria ... -6811.html roasted to a light-medium (~2:00 of DT). It is slightly fruity. My experiments with roasting my own decaf and purchasing ~50 different roaster's decaf offerings suggest that getting the same sort of fruit bomb experience that can be had from natural processed coffees may not be possible due to the decaf processes.

August 16th, 2021, 3:21 pm

walr00s wrote:My frustration with trying to find a fruity decaf led me to buying my own coffee roaster.

I'm not quite ready to roast my own beans, but that form post looks VERY informative, thank you for that.

#4: Post by **Pressino** » August 20th, 2021, 2:44 pm

walr00s wrote:
I am currently enjoying https://www.sweetmarias.com/sweet-maria ... -6811.html roasted to a light-medium (~2:00 of DT). It is slightly fruity. My experiments with roasting my own decaf and purchasing ~50 different roaster's decaf offerings suggest that getting the same sort of fruit bomb experience that can be had from natural processed coffees may not be possible due to the decaf processes.

I usually roast SM's Donkey Blend, but I just got a pound of their Moka Java SWP and will try roasting it 10-20 seconds into 2nd crack. You said you roasted yours for 2 minutes after start of FC...how would you grade your final degree of roast

I'd really like to find a good fruity decaf...

#5: Post by **walr00s** » August 20th, 2021, 3:39 pm

I'm drinking it as espresso dropped at the beginning of 2C right now, so what I would call dark or med-dark. I'd say it's pretty fantastic this way. It has a lot of flavor, obviously not a ton of fruit at this roast level, but definitely one of the more complex decafs I've had. At medium-light (~1.5 min after 1C on lower heat), I found it to be fruitier and more acidic, but also to have a hint of the decaf flavor. Honestly can't say for sure which way I prefer it. I've roasted 6 different decaf coffees in the last month and the Java and the Oromia from SM are by far my favorites.

#6: Post by **Pressino** » August 20th, 2021, 6:54 pm

Thanks! I'll try roasting it just a bit into 2C, which is where I usually like my decafs. Sweet Marias mentions "bittering" at darker roasts.

#7: Post by **braxtonjens** » August 20th, 2021, 7:01 pm

I would go for some EA decaf.
That style for my typically has more fruit forward opposed to the dense, cocoa, etc. Flavors of typical SWP