Decaf coffee: how to brew it like a pro
Are you a decaf drinker? Many people who love coffee can't tolerate caffeine in their bodies, so decaffeinated coffee is an excellent option.
If we have to be honest, decaf coffee does not have the same flavor that regular coffee does. In the process of decaffeination many components that determine the taste are loose (you can read more in this post).
In this article we are going to see the best alternative to brew a great cup of coffee that you barely would notice is decaf.
Article index:
What is decaf coffee
Does decaf coffee taste different?
The best roast
The best method
How to brew decaf coffee step by step
Caffeine comparison
Bottom line
What is decaf coffee
Decaf is short for decaffeinated. With some processes, we can extract the caffeine from coffee beans while preserving its flavor and aroma.
Although it might seem like a scam, decaf has some caffeine in it. This is because the extraction process can take out about 97% of this component from coffee beans.
If you want to know more about the amount of caffeine in decaf (which is extremely low), you can check this article from Coffee Devotion: Decaf coffee has caffeine? Believe it or not, yes.
Does decaf coffee taste different?
Let's be honest, although decaf coffee is great it does not have the same flavor and aroma than regular coffee.
This has an explanation, and it's that caffeine has a bitter flavor that everyone relates with coffee, and extracting that will change the final taste. Also, even the most advanced decaf system removes not only caffeine from the beans but also other components that give coffee its traditional flavor.
In a previous article we talked about 3 methods to remove caffeine from coffee beans, and all of them have something in common: soaking the beans in water. This literally starts the extraction of coffee in a water that you will never drink, so some flavor remains there.
The best roast
Darker roasts are the best for decaf coffee. If you decide to lightly roast your coffee beans, you will definitely notice more the chances in flavor between decaf and regular coffee, but if you give them a good dark roast, those differences will be more hidden.
In Coffee Devotion we have an article about 5 types of coffee roast. If you are interested in the roasting process, reading it will help you to have a deep understanding. In my opinion, a medium dark or a dark roast is perfect for decaf beans.
The best method
Like with the beans, there are brewing methods that evidence more the differences between decaf and regular coffee. These methods are all of those who use hot water.
Wait, hot water? Isn't that essential in coffee making?
Almost every brewing system uses hot water, except cold brew. This is why cold brewing your decaf coffee is the best option for getting awesome results.
If you want to learn all the secrets about cold brew (which is not the same as iced coffee) read this post.
How to brew decaf coffee step by step
- Beans roast: as we saw before in this article, darker roasts work better in decaf coffee. This are the two roasts I recommend and some other names which you can find them:
Medium dark
Other names: Full city, light espresso, light french, after dinner, viennese.
Dark
Other names: Espresso, French, European, New Orleans, High, Italian, Spanish.
- Brewing method election: cold brew is, by far, the best option for your decaf. GO with this one if you want a great cup of coffee.
- Coffee grind size: as we are going with a cold brew coffee you will need an extra coarse grind. If you want to know more about coffee grinds and their suitable machines, this article is for you.
- Water - coffee ratio: the most popular water coffee ratio for cold brew is around 1:8 or 1:9. If you want to use 50 g of coffee, you would need between 400 or 450 ml of cold water.
- Coffee brewing: to prepare your cold brew just add in a big jar your coffee and water, and let it sit for between 8 to 24 hours in the fridge. Strain it and that's it.
- It is a cold drink?: you can definitely heat up your cold brew coffee to prepare a hot drink, and you can also drink it cold like an iced coffee.
Caffeine comparison
A regular cold brew coffee can contain up to 200 mg of caffeine per 16 oz cup, while in the same amount of decaf coffee you will just get 20 mg of caffeine or less.
It is estimated that on average people can drink up to 400 mg of it every day. This amount changes in every human, so we don't have to take it for guarantied and probably drink less than 400 mg of caffeine per day.
If we are talking about decaf coffee it is almost impossible to reach the maximum amount of caffeine recommended per day. You would need to drink up to 40 coffees of Dunkin Donuts, which is over 16 liters of coffee.
Bottom line
Decaf coffee is definitely a great option for those coffee lovers who can not tolerate caffeine. In my opinion decaf does not deserve the bad reputation it has. In this article we learn an excellent way to brew it correctly so everyone can enjoy a decent cup of coffee, whether they can consume caffeine or not.
I believe that we can not judge a coffee if we are not trying it in the best form it can be, so it is unfair to judge decaf if we never tried to find good ways to brew it.
Have you tried this way of brewing decaf coffee?