The first time I tried decaf was in a café in Penzance in 1998 – we were there for a very specific event, so I can remember the awful café vividly. My only thought at that time was “never again” as that decaf coffee was terrible, stale, undrinkable, awful.
Fast forward about 20 years – I attended a roasting course in a small local café where they roast their own coffee. It was a late evening training session, and they offered the trainees decaf, saying they had a recent batch of “the best decaf in the world”, so I tried it with trepidation.
The decaf was very good, and now I know that the processes for making decaf coffee have improved vastly. The Swiss Water® process (a chemical-free decaffeination technique) had been used since before the second world war, but the process was re-engineered in 2006 and now produces reliable decaf that tastes like caffeinated coffee. It seems that many people, including me, cannot tell the difference.
Note – the “Swiss Water® process” does not mean that water from Switzerland is used, but rather that the process which was designed in Switzerland is used!
When we started GetMeCoffee we realised lots of people had a similar early experience to me, and so we hunted down the best decaf coffees, and we did lots of blind tastes to make sure it wasn’t just us that thinks it’s fab. Our favourite is from Honduras and as with all our coffees, you can purchase a small 250g bag to try, or larger bags if you prefer.
Are you pregnant or hope to be someday? If you are pregnant or know someone who is, do check out our blog Caffeine and Pregnancy where we discuss the latest NHS guidance about caffeine for anyone who is expecting a baby.