Decaffeinated Coffees

Caffeine is virtually tasteless, but any process for getting it out of the beans is a brutal one and obviously affects flavor. Typically, decaffeination mutes or simplifies flavor, taking away the subtle grace notes and nuances. A decaffeinated Kenya will still taste like a Kenya, but it will be a simpler, less powerful version of the Kenya profile. Occasionally decaffeination can have a positive affect on flavor by smoothing out the profiles of coffees that are interesting tasting but a bit rough.

Home roasters need to take particular care when roasting decaffeinated coffees. Decaffeinated beans are brown in color to start with, and tend to respond to roasting differently than untreated beans. Typically, they roast more quickly. So if you are roasting a given batch of decaffeinated beans for the first time, be particularly careful to hover over the roasting process to make sure you don't burn or overroast the beans.

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Just a thought for those who are roasting at home. Before roasting consider this:

Relax, experiment and enjoy.

Green coffees can be roasted to many different degrees of darkness. Just as you can change the taste of foods by changing the way you cook them, or change the taste of wines by oak-aging them differently, you can alter the taste of coffee beans by roasting them to slightly different shades of brown. The longer the roast time, the darker the shade of brown.

For example, when roasting a Colombian Supremo SF Prep coffee you can roast that coffee to any one of the roast levels or shades of brown listed below and achieve different-tasting cups of coffee as an outcome. The key to the enjoyment of home roasting is to be flexible and experiment with coffees and roast levels. There is no ôright or wrongö way to roasting. You roast to the level that you like and have fun in the process. Use the spectrum below as a basis to judge your roast levels.

Roast Spectrum

City Roast (Light brown)
Full City Roast (Medium brown)
Viennese Roast (medium-dark brown)
Espresso Roast (darker, "chestnut" brown)
French Roast (very dark brown)
Dark French Italian Roast (almost black)

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Glossary

Acidity: The bright, brisk, tart-yet-sweet taste of a good coffee, analogous to the dry taste of a good table wine. The darker the shade of brown the less acidity taste your coffee will display in the cup.

Natural or dry method: Coffee is the seed of a small fruit. How the fruit is removed from the seeds/beans affects the taste of the coffee. In the natural or dry method, the coffee is dried fruit and all. The dry fruit husks are removed later by machine. Natural or dry-process coffee is usually fruitier and heavier in body than washed or wet-processed coffees, but less acidy.

Washed or wet method: In the washed or wet method the fruit is removed from the coffee seeds/beans immediately after the fruit has been picked and before the seeds/beans are dried. Wet-processed coffees are usually brighter in taste, slightly lighter in body, and more acidy than natural or dry-processed coffees.

Shipping Information

We usually ship by UPS ground. We cannot ship green coffees to Hawaii, Alaska or to international locations.

For more information on shipping options like next day air or if you have any questions at all, give us a call.

For a more accurate shipping rate to your location on orders over 10 lbs or so give us a call.