The Best Decaf Coffee Beans UK 2023
Decaf Coffee is often met with a scrunched up face.
It has always been associated with a taste that isn’t quite as good as the real thing.
Much like its non-alcoholic counterparts in the alcohol industry, decaf has for many years been a zero caffeine, low-quality alternative.
However, times are changing and decaf coffee is something that has dramatically improved in the coffee industry especially in the specialty coffee scene where taste and processes rule.
With advancements in the decaffeinating process and an increased demand for better decaf coffee, it is now possible to enjoy the complexities of a regular speciality coffee minus (the majority) of the caffeine.
With decaf coffee accounting for 12% of all coffee consumed in the world it’s amazing why processes that have minimal impact on the taste of the coffee have only just started taking off on a commercial scale.
If you are looking for some of the best decaf coffee in the UK that doesn’t skimp on taste and quality then here are a few of our favourites;
Why Trust Me?
I’m Tom and I have been working in the coffee industry for over 10 years, starting my journey as a barista in Australia, working on coffee farms in South America and roasting coffee in The UK. Today I review and write about speciality coffee. I am the founder of Batch Coffee Club, which showcases the very best coffee from around the world.
THE BEST DECAF COFFEE UK
Batch Coffee is all about showcasing the best coffee in the world.
Batch decaf coffee club focuses on independently roasted decaf coffee of the highest quality that has been ethically sourced.
Specialty decaf coffee is becoming more and more popular but there is still a long way to go to build awareness that decaf can taste as good as it’s caffeinated cousin.
The Batch decaf coffee club pairs two specialty decaf coffees in each box so you can compare the flavours profiles side by side.
You will never receive the same coffee twice and the two coffees are from different origins and different independent coffee roasters.
You will find heaps of information about each coffee roaster and the specific coffee origin when you scan the QR code on each bag.
Learn more about Batch Decaf Coffee Club.
Pssssst… Use code DECAF50 for 50% off your first subscription box.
Kurt Stewart is the man behind Volcano coffee works which was founded in 2010.
Kurt grew up in coffee-mad New Zealand and created Volcano to bring the great tatsing coffee he had grown up with to the UK, while supporting the livelihoods of the communities who grow and produce it.
Volcano started life as a coffee cart that graced the streets of West Norwood but has now grown to a team of 30 passionate coffee people that operate out of their state of the art coffee roastery in Brixton.
The first batch of the day is always roasted by Kurt who is still the beating heart of the coffee business.
Volcano consistently produce some of the best coffee available in the UK at such a high volume.
The decaf option at Volcano is seasonal and always brimming with delicious flavour notes that you would expect from non-decaf coffee.
Do you fancy a bit of Volcano in you life? Visit Volcano’s Online Store.
Check out our review of Volcano Coffee.
Assembly are one of the most quality and customer focused coffee roasters in the UK.
They are one of the few coffee roasters in the UK that are pushing the boundaries of each aspect of their business.
The Assembly roastery is housed in a 19th century fire station in the heart of London.
The Loring roaster alongside a state of the art coffee sensory lab and a couple of event spaces to hold cuppings is a testament to how serious these guys take specialty coffee.
Launched in 2015 during the annual London coffee festival, Assembly are now showcasing their coffee on a global scale.
The decaf beans that Assembly showcase is always top draw. The flavours and complexities that are highlighted by the skilled coffee roasters here are parallel to their caffeinated counterparts.
Want to try some of the highest quality decaf coffee beans in the UK? Check Out Assembly’s Online Store.
Here’s our full review of Assembly.
Decadent Decaf was founded in 2015 by Guy, Richard, Greg and Laura.
4 UK coffee importing & roasting veterans sick of the poor decaf choice that was available and determined to do something about it.
Decadent Decaf roast only 7 decafs all year round - so there's no coffee waiting "on the shelf" - ensuring great tasting freshly roasted decaffeinated coffee that week direct from their little roastery a mile from the sea in West Sussex. Their wide variety is also available as one of the few purely decaf coffee subscriptions in the UK.
The decaffeination process called the Swiss Water Decaf Process gently removes the caffeine and leaves the coffee flavours in the bean.
At Swiss Water Decaf, they only use water, zero chemicals, to gently remove the caffeine until the coffee beans are 99.9% caffeine-free, whilst maintaining the bean's distinctive origin and flavour characteristics.
Decaf’s moment has come - Decadent Decaf wants to reinvent decaf beans and spread the word of great healthy delicious specialty decaf coffee!
If DDCC seem like the best decaf coffee UK to you. Visit Decadent Decaf’s Online Store
We are Here Coffee is a roaster based in Margate.
Their concept is definitely different from many of the other third-wave coffee roasters out there at the moment. They put it best themselves:
“to state the obvious WE LOVE COFFEE, like loads. but we're bored with all the doo-dars and chit-chat that comes with it why over-complicate a drink that you make when you're sleepy? it makes no sense.”
Theirs is some of the best decaf whole bean coffees around and they are one of the most popular roasters that featured in our UK coffee subscription.
Check out our review of We Are Here
If you’re up for trying some of We Are Here’s delicious decaf coffee Visit Their Online Store.
Blossom Coffee are a new and exciting coffee roaster that has emerged from Manchester over the last year.
The quality of their coffee is outstanding, they purchase the finest green (raw) coffee from a small selection of importers and roast the coffee in a way that maximises the sweeter notes while highlighting the interesting complexities and natural characteristics that many speciality coffees possess.
The decaf espresso blend that they showcase is perfect for those who like a milky coffee at weekends perfectly extracted out of their Sage coffee machine.
Check out our review of Blossom
If you would like to try some of their brilliant decaf espresso beans Visit Blossom’s Online Shop.
Two Chimps Coffee are a speciality coffee roastery based out of Rutland in Oakham, UK.
The name is a testament to their laid back and fun-loving nature they have with their work.
Two chimps’ mission is to fill the gap between pod machine coffee drinkers and speciality coffee drinkers by offering fresh, hand-roasted decaf speciality coffee straight to your door.
Their seasonal Decaf beans are always carefully roasted and packed full of flavour.
Check out our review of Two Chimps
Or buy a bag directly from Two Chimps’ Online Shop.
Horsham Coffee Roaster is based in Sussex, UK.
Back in 2012, there were a fraction of the speciality coffee roasters there are today.
With their 1kg roaster in their garage, Horsham wanted to showcase the amazing results they were able to achieve on their small-batch roaster.
They have come a considerable way from the garage back in 2012, although they are still a small team their drive and focus is still the same.
They regularly have a couple of delicious decaf options available for you to purchase online alongside their huge range of speciality coffees and coffee club.
Check out our review of Horsham
Or buy some decaf coffee beans directly from Horsham Coffee Roaster’s Online Shop.
Eight pm coffee are a new and exciting coffee company with a twist
Ben, Alice & Ansgar recognise that coffee is one of the finest ingredients the world has to offer, however, they realise that the caffeine it comes with is not for everyone.
The trio founded 8 pm Coffee to create an incredible tasting decaffeinated coffee that rivalled some of the best high-end, speciality coffees around, with all of the depth of flavour, but without any of the side effects caused by caffeine.
The co-founders are all passionate coffee drinkers, however after feeling some of the side effects that coffee has they started to explore what else was out there as a caffeine-free option.
Read our decaf coffee review of Eight pm Coffee.
Purchase a bag of decaf coffee from Eight PM’s Online Shop.
What is Decaffeinated Coffee?
Minus a few whispers in the speciality coffee industry of caffeine-free coffee plants which have apparently been engineered, all decaf coffee beans starts its life as a regular caffeine-rich coffee plant.
The coffee cherries are picked and processed (hulled, fermented, dried, and whatever variations in between).
Instead of now getting sent to coffee roasters across the world, they are exported to a decaf processing unit where via one of four methods (explained below) most of the caffeine is removed.
To class as decaf coffee, there must be at least 97% of the original caffeine removed. This means that there is still a small amount of caffeine in coffee that has been decaffeinated, so if you’re the sort to drink coffee in pints you may feel a slight tingle on your 5th.
The decaffeinated green coffee is then sent to coffee roasters throughout the world.
How is Decaf Coffee Made?
Caffeine-free coffee was invented in 1903 by a German coffee merchant Ludwig Roselius.
He noticed that a crate of coffee that had accidentally been soaked in water apparently lost its caffeine content while still retaining its flavours.
A commercial process was developed ad later patented where the caffeine was removed via steaming the coffee with various acids and bases then using benzene as a solvent to remove the caffeine.
This was the recognised procedure to remove the mg of caffeine in coffee for many years, however, the process damaged the raw coffee and makes accurate roasting extremely hard.
Benzene has also been proved to be carcinogenic recently so has now been replaced with various organic solvents.
There are 4 main methods
Direct-solvent process
Indirect-solvent process
Carbon dioxide process
Swiss water process
1. Direct solvent process
This is the process highlighted above that was first invented by Ludwig Roselius in the early 20th century.
It was the first method and most widely used for many years.
Coffee is firstly steamed to open the pores of the coffee bean, it is then soaked with an organic solvent which unites with the caffeine inside the coffee.
This process takes place a number of times until the caffeine content is 97% less than the original coffee.
The beans are then steamed again to remove any solvent residue, dried and sold to decaf coffee roasters.
This process has been a source for scrutiny over the last 40 or 50 years because of the chemicals used in the procedure and their links to health problems like cancer and heart disease.
2. Indirect-Solvent Process
The indirect-solvent method is a take on the solvent method but invented around 40 years later.
First of all the green coffee is steamed and soaked in nearly boiling hot water for several hours. This draws out flavours and oils from the beans while also extracting the caffeine.
The green beans are then removed from the liquid and various chemicals and solvents are used to remove the caffeine from the brew.
The green coffee is then exposed to the caffeine free liquid and all the oils and flavours are reintroduced into the coffee.
3. Swiss Water Process
This is the technique that you will see across many independent speciality coffee outlets.
The Procedure uses only water and is less invasive than other techniques which result in a higher quality green bean with a higher percentage of its original flavours intact.
The whole process however is a little more labour intensive and expensive, so you will see a higher price tag on this type of decaffeination.
The first step of the process is similar to the indirect method, the green coffee beans are soaked in hot water causing the beans to release their caffeine and solids into the water.
Photo: Swiss Water
The caffeine is then removed from the solution using an activated carbon filter, resulting in a solution called GCE (Green coffee extract).
Regular caffeine rich coffee is then introduced into the GCE and the resulting difference in caffeine gradient means the caffeine from the beans migrate into the GCE.
The caffeine is then removed from the GCE and the process is repeated until the overall percentage of caffeine in the green beans is less than 3% of the original.
4. CO2 Method
This method involves streaming the green beans and then adding them to a high pressure vessel for about 10 hours which extracts the caffeine. When the pressure is reduced the CO2 escapes through evaporation, water (referred to as the sparkling water technique) or via activated carbon filters.
Photo: Traid Craft Shop
Caffeine is removed from the CO2 which can then be used again.
Is there any 100% decaf coffee?
There is no completely decaffeinated coffee. The decaffeination process eliminates the caffeine via various techniques, each time the raw coffee is subjected to the particular process more caffeine is removed, to be classed as decaf a minimum % of the caffeine has to be removed from the bean.
Although there is no such thing as 100% caffeine free coffee on the market, there are some pretty innovative heads out there so watch this space.
Benefits of Decaf Coffee - Is Decaf Coffee Good For You?
Decaf coffee has many benefits.
First of all, it obviously doesn’t contain caffeine which means for those who are intolerant or can’t handle a great deal of caffeine a great alternative hot beverage.
Decaf also contains all the vitamins and antioxidants that regular coffee contains plus with the added benefit of reduced acidity which may alter the overall complexity of certain coffees can also prove to be a drink that people can drink that have stomach upsets with the regular stuff.
Is Decaf Coffee Bad For You?
No - not really.
Decaf coffee beans contain all of the healthy anti oxidants and vitamins that regular coffee contains minus the majority of the caffeine so it can be a healthy drink for most people and particularly those who are effected by caffeine or acidic drinks.
There has always been stigma surrounding the processes in which caffeine is extracted from coffee beans and whether the chemicals used to do so are harmful.
If you suffer with certain health problems around acidic food then decaf may be a less acidic option.
Today, the processes that use chemicals to directly extract caffeine from coffee (of which there is 1 process out of 4), use organic solvents and chemicals as opposed to the previously used ones linked to certain health issues.
How Much Caffeine is in Decaf Coffee?
There is always a small amount of caffeine in decaf coffee beans.
The various methods that are used to extract the decaf never remove 100% of it.
For coffee to be sold as decaf it must contain 97% less than the original caffeine content of the coffee bean.
Considering different coffee beans have various caffeine content then for example if you are used to drinking a caffeine rich robusta coffee and you then drink a decaf arabica coffee (which typically have less caffeine than robusta) then the caffeine in your decaf will be minuscule to what you are used to.
On the contrary if you have a zero caffeine diet then drinking a lot of decaf may still have a small effect on you.
What Is The Recommended Daily Intake Of Caffeine?
The recommended daily intake of caffeine for your average human is 400mg If your caffeinated beverage of choice is coffee (which as you’re all the way down here on this decaf coffee blog I’m guessing it is) then that amount of caffeine equals 2 cups of coffee.
While many other caffeinated drinks (particularly the ones that make you fly) are packed full of sugars and E numbers, coffee on the other hand has a whole lot of goodness packed in.
Did you know that 3 cups of coffee per day can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes and is full of antioxidants.
What Is The Difference Between Normal And Decaf Coffee?
Decaf coffee starts its life exactly the same as regular coffee and is processed at origin exactly the same as how regular coffee gets processed.
The difference is in between the origin and the roaster, decaf coffee will undergo certain processes in facilities designed to extract the caffeine from coffee beans.
The resulting caffeine-less green coffee is then roasted in consuming countries.
Is Decaffeinated Coffee Acidic?
Decaff coffee beans tend not to be acidic and can be an alternative drink to regular coffee for those who struggle with stomach problems.
The process that extract the caffeine from the coffee removes certain acidic solubles as well as caffeine which also adds to a regular coffees acidity.
Can I Drink Decaf Coffee While Pregnant?
“There are no official guidelines on decaffeinated coffee and pregnancy. Nonetheless, due to the very low amounts of caffeine in decaf coffee, it's most likely safe to drink in moderation during pregnancy.” -Healthline
Where Can You Buy The Best Decaffeinated Coffee Beans?
Decaf coffee can be purchased from most supermarkets in the form of instant or pre-ground coffee. Although these options are tempting from a price point of view, you will probably be sacrificing taste, quality and the environmental and social sustainability issues that commodity grade coffee poses.
If you’re willing to part with a few extra pennies then head to your local decaf coffee roaster and purchase decaff coffee beans from them. You will be able to find speciality decaf coffee in most independent cafe’s, shops or roasters which will rival the taste or regular coffee.
How to Make a Decaf Coffee?
Use decaf coffee as you would use regular coffee. If you prepare your coffee with a cafetiere, then buy pre-ground decaf coffee for cafetiere or grind the beans for a cafetiere. Use decaf coffee as you would for any coffee filter method from espresso to pour-over coffee.
Which Instant Decaf is Best?
At Batch coffee we would always recommend purchasing your coffee either as whole beans to grind at home or pre-ground coffee.
That said, there is obviously a place for instant coffee in the increasingly busy lives we lead. We would recommend opting for a smaller independent coffee brand that takes quality and sustainability seriously.
