# Swapping from caf to decaf - espresso rules of thumb?



## LMartin (Nov 28, 2020)

Hi folks. Looking for a bit of guidance.

I can (sadly) only tolerate one caffeine drink a day, meaning I have one caf drink (flat white) first thing in the morning, then maybe 2-3 decaf espressos throughout the day.

What "rules of thumb" should I be applying to my preparation methods that are different from caf to decaf? At the moment I'm broadly keeping parameters quite similar, apart from grinder which I'm going finer for. I'm also already doing a little purge of coarser caf coffee before grinding the decaf dose. But should I be looking for different doses, ratios, even in ideal world brew temps, etc too?

I'm aware this is a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" question, so I suppose I'm interested in generally applicable rules of thumb I can use that are roughly correct, to then get into the nuances of the difference.

Thanks, L


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

LMartin said:


> Hi folks. Looking for a bit of guidance.
> 
> I can (sadly) only tolerate one caffeine drink a day, meaning I have one caf drink (flat white) first thing in the morning, then maybe 2-3 decaf espressos throughout the day.
> 
> ...


 As far as I know, usually:

- it goes stale much quicker than non-decaf coffee;
- the colour of the coffee is darker in comparison to non-decaf, for the same level of roast;
- grind finer;
- tastewise, I'm not a fan. I'm never able to find something I like, fruity, light, boozy. They are often more mellow and go well with milk;
- I'm not sure about this one, but you may benefit from brewing 1C or 2C hotter than usual. But let your tastebuds guide you on this one.


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## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

I have also been on the decaf route and found I needed to up the dose by about 1g and also tighten up the grind to get anything similar to what I'm used to tastewisw.

Ian


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

If you prefer a rich full mouthfeel coffee with low acidity try the Coffee Compass Sumatran swiss water D/C.

Goes well as a flat white. Doubtful you would know it was decaf.


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## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

Is there still a discount code for Coffee compass please, if so can someone send it to me.

Ian


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Eyedee said:


> Is there still a discount code for Coffee compass please, if so can someone send it to me.
> 
> Ian


 It's not in a super secret post any more...

https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/56878-coffeecompas-discount-code-for-members-with-10-posts-or-more/?tab=comments&do=embed&comment=803161&embedComment=803161&embedDo=findComment#comment-803161


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## 29244 (Feb 8, 2021)

With decaf l grind a lot finer e.g. at a 14 on my NZ for my favourite bean and 8 for decaf, to get the same recipe (weight in, weight out, duration).


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## 29244 (Feb 8, 2021)

@LMartin I've recently been enjoying a dark roast 50/50 decaf/normal bean. Great flavour. Have you tried that as an option?


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