Decaf: Making The Switch
Sometimes in life you have to admit defeat and try the one thing that you really don’t want to do in order to maintain some balance. Yes, you guessed it, I’ve switched to decaf.
In 2022 I was on a journey of self discovery and a pursuit to make all the changes I could to make my life as an independent parent and business owner easier to manage. But, despite all of my efforts, I still faced daily anxiety, problems with my gut and a battle with my hormones; and after spending some time with a wise caffeine-free friend of mine I realised that decaf was the next step in my quest.
I’m not going to sugarcoat the transition – the first two weeks were awful. The relentless headaches made the whole thing a lot more challenging than I expected but I stuck with it and once the withdrawals subsided, it was clear to me that the positive effects I was hoping for were kicking in. I no longer woke up with a feeling that my whole body craved something and that I couldn’t function until I’d had my fix, I no longer felt that twitchy, anxious feeling throughout the morning. I just felt calmer. All day.
So here I am, four months later, the storm has passed, the sea is calm and I’m on a new quest to learn about decaf coffee and all of its joys! And I’m not the only one. The consumption of decaffeinated coffee in the UK is on the rise, so much so that several UK-based green coffee importers have faced challenges in securing an allocation of decaf green coffee in the past few years. Howard Barwick, European Business Development Manager at Covoya Coffee puts this down to an increase of health awareness and home consumption during the pandemic. As a roaster, you’ll find that decaf is mostly back on the shelves but you may find some importers sold out and it’s harder to bag yourself one of the higher-end, more unique varieties.
And what about the health benefits of decaf coffee? It’s widely recognised that coffee is full of antioxidants and polyphenols which can help protect against heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer; and the good news is that many of these positive compounds remain intact during the decaffeination process. Lesley Atkins, Founder of The Nourishing Space, assures me that whilst it can depend on the variables (processing, roasting, brewing etc) I can continue to expect similar antioxidant effects from consuming decaf coffee as that of consuming non-decaf.
Finally, taste was a reservation of mine from the get-go. I love drinking coffee, I love trying new and different coffee, and I love sampling coffee from different roasters so I was nervous about limiting my options. But, at the same time I’ve been excited about the prospect of a whole new range of unexplored coffees, which brings us nicely to my recommendations for some of the tastiest decaf brews I’ve stumbled upon these past few months.
This is one of the juiciest decaf coffees I’ve tried. The honey and sweet fruits promised on the packet did not fail to come through!
Sugarcane decaf is often coined as the natural decaf because it utilises organic and locally sourced ingredients to extract the caffeine from the coffee. The plant that Chipp works with in Colombia uses water from the Navado el Ruis (a volcano between Caldas and Tolima) and natural ethyl acetate from fermented sugarcane sourced in the southern region of Palmira, Colombia. The process starts by fermenting molasses derived from sugarcane to create ethanol. This alcohol is then mixed with acetic acid to create the compound ethyl acetate used to extract the caffeine. In places where sugarcane is readily available it makes great economic and environmental sense to utilise this process.
This delicious coffee had a citrus acidity which I’ve not found in other decaf coffees I’ve tried and the Mexican styled branding had me at hello.
Mountain Water Process coffee is sent for decaffeination at the Mountain Water facility in Veracruz, Mexico – also sometimes referred to as Mexican Water Process.This unique non-chemical decaffeination process uses the clear waters from the highest mountain in Mexico, the Pico de Orizaba to gently remove the caffeine from the green beans.
This process adds an additional layer of intervention after the green coffee is dried but still made for a tasty coffee and is far better than any chemically processed decaf coffee.
Another example of EA sugarcane processed decaf, this one matched up to my expectations of this unique style of preparation. Notes of honey and cocoa were present in the cup with a balanced and juicy mouthfeel. Everything I never expected to get from a decaf coffee!
Go check out the XO coffee blog to engage with the essential work they are doing to spark discussions about being queer and neurodivergent in coffee. Count me in.
Other decaf coffees I’ve tried and would recommend: