# Are there good decaf beans out there?



## lucky13 (Dec 30, 2011)

Just wondering if there are good or even great decaf beans around?

I don't drink decaf my self, I've just haven't seen it discussed.


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## CoffeeMagic (Aug 7, 2011)

It's not something I normally drink but have it on good authority that there are some that you probably wouldn't pick out in a blind tasting. Having said that decaf is often used as part of a PM Blend to reduce the caffeine hit in an evening brew.


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## wastedhours (Jan 2, 2012)

I've looked around for some, but it's very rare to find something that's not a rather middle-of-the-road Columbian. Would be nice to find some more varieties though, as several family members only really drink decaf and it's not nice having to roll out the same flavours over and over again...


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## Filthy_rich85 (Jan 20, 2011)

Check Has Beans latest beans out, I'm sure I saw some on there this morning


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## ChiarasDad (Mar 21, 2010)

After overindulging on coffee over the holidays (Santa brought me a new grinder, what was I to do?) I have laid in a good couple weeks' worth of Londinium's decaf Costa Rican, which I'll start on when my Tegu AA runs out (all too soon, alas). I'll report back on my experiences.

In general I have found decaf pretty difficult to extract as espresso; the window of acceptable grind, between too fast and near-choke, seems much narrower than with regular beans. But I do need some post-holiday caffeine detox, so I've decided I'm up for the challenge.


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## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

Osh used to be the man on here for decaff, so worth checking his old posts, I am working my way through some Squre Mile Finca Bourbon decaff at the moment, not bad but for decaffs I would try the James Gourmet one of the same name, Coffee Bean Shop normally have 2 decaff's on the Premium and the Guatemalan which are ok

incidentally can anyone tell me why I have to adjust the grinder so much finer from "normal" coffee to decaff, seems to be the same with all decaff beans for some reason!


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decaffeination

Dunno. From the above link, the Swiss method is carried out on green beans. Maybe it results in some moisture/oils leaving the bean


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## takingabreak (Nov 10, 2011)

I was finding that Hasbean's Del Obispo CO2 decaf was giving a particularly well controlled pour, and actually required a slightly coarser grind that the Los Miligros, which is my usual at the moment. I was just using a slightly lower dose to avoid having to change the grinder back and forth. Unfortunately it's all gone - so any recommendations for tasty decafs which don't require a much finer grind setting than normal would be most appreciated.


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## oldman (Dec 1, 2011)

Just ordered some Brazilian Atalaia Organic from Coffee Real. Will let you know how it goes.


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## ChiarasDad (Mar 21, 2010)

I'm getting *great* results with Londinium's Costa Rican decaf. And it's not at all hard to work with as I feared. Very highly recommended.

My "what's in your cup this morning" post about it


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## rodabod (Dec 4, 2011)

I've got a bag of Monmouth Guatemalan Decaf.

The first thing I noticed was that it took more work to grind by hand, and I had to adjust the grind coarser as it was just about choking my machine.

Anyway, I'm generally pleased with it, however there's a certain taste to it which I slightly dislike. It's a bit like a very slight taste (or smell) of burnt plastic and an odd bitterness.

I've improved this by lowering from 18g to 14g, but it's still not as good as their (fantastic) normal beans.

Has anyone else noticed flavour changes like this with decaf?


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