The NYT on Decaf - It's Getting Better

As someone who's been fighting GERD for 20 years, I've long been interested in a better tasting decaf.  When coffee is part of your daily job, you drink a LOT of caffeine.  Finding a good decaf to enjoy away from the job would be a godsend.

Today's article in the New York Times suggests those decaf coffees are already starting to appear or will be soon.  A focus on tasty decaf is indeed long overdue.

Taste is one reason we've abandoned Swiss Water Process coffees.  No matter what the country of origin, whenever we took three coffees from the same area and blind cupped them side by side, the SWP would always lose to Mountain Water Process (MWP) and methylene chloride (MC).  It was simply flatter, something we've noted before on this blog.

Decaf drinkers may have noticed that the flavor of your morning cup might change a couple of times a week.  That's because we've been testing a bunch of decaf coffees this month, both as single origins and blends.  I'm working with an MWP Brazil for LaVerdad that I've been blending with various MC decaf coffees to get something I'd drink daily.  We've been alternating decafs in the morning airpots to get feedback.

Meantime, we recommend a decaf cappuccino or Americano made with Decaf Black Cat or the decaf Finca El Puente Honduras coffee from Stumptown done as a pourover.  Both are Direct Trade coffees.

We love Peter Giuliano's quote in the article.

“We have a special obligation to the decaf drinker. Those guys are the true believers. They’re not drinking coffee because they need to wake up. They’re only drinking coffee because they like the taste.”

And yes, decaf is more expensive for us to purchase.  We've never passed that cost on.  But as we work toward bringing you decaf that's every bit as tasty as 'regular', that might change.

Comments

[Dave]

I certainly hope that decaf coffee becomes more tasteful. Just about everyday around 2 or 3 I crave a cup of coffee, but do not feel like I need that additional caffeine, especially working out. Look forward to staying posted on any new decaf discoveries you come across.