Decaf Coffee?

Although I am resigned to the fact that I am going to have to give up caffeine for the foreseeable future, I don't think that I can give up my comfortable habit of a cup of coffee or two in the morning. I own one of those cuisinart coffee makers that grind the beans for you, which I LOVE! Right now I'm drinking a cup that I made using a mixture of Eight O'Clock (half caffeinated) and decaf vanilla flavored coffee beans of the type you buy in by the pound at Jewel. I don't usually go for the flavored, but I thought it might give the resulting brew a little more dimension.

It's not horrible, but I was hoping that someone here could steer me to something better. Any suggestions for good decaffeinated (or partially decaffeinated) coffee?

maureencd wrote:Although I am resigned to the fact that I am going to have to give up caffeine for the foreseeable future, I don't think that I can give up my comfortable habit of a cup of coffee or two in the morning. I own one of those cuisinart coffee makers that grind the beans for you, which I LOVE! Right now I'm drinking a cup that I made using a mixture of Eight O'Clock (half caffeinated) and decaf vanilla flavored coffee beans of the type you buy in by the pound at Jewel. I don't usually go for the flavored, but I thought it might give the resulting brew a little more dimension.

It's not horrible, but I was hoping that someone here could steer me to something better. Any suggestions for good decaffeinated (or partially decaffeinated) coffee?

I gave up caffeine nearly 8 years ago now (except for the trace amounts that exist in decaf coffee, chocolate, and other things). Decaffination is an expensive process and most coffee producers choose to use cheaper beans for their decaf to offset the cost. (Alton Brown's coffee episode of Good Eats has a good overview of this).

I've tasted decaf coffees all around the city and the best, by far, is Intelligentsia. I don't buy beans for home use, and I often buy whatever decaf they're brewing that day. I'm partial to the French Roast.

Best,
Michael

I drink coffee every morning but honestly, it bores me. I need the jolt to greet the dawn, but throughout the day, unless I'm really dragging, I go with tea.

Now, I know this doesn't answer your question and that you love your cuisinart, but consider camellia sinensis. I find the range of teas broader than that of coffee, and teas are naturally much lower in caffeine than coffee (you can get decaf varieties, but I find the flavor sometimes somewhat diminished).

I have often waxed eurphoric about Todd & Holland's tea selection, but they're quite expensive, and lately I've been ordering online from Mightly Leaf and Upton's, both of which offer good teas, reasonably priced. During the winter months, I drink about a gallon of tea a day (not an exaggeration).

Hammond

Thank you both for the suggestions. In fact, I do enjoy tea quite a bit but for some reason I think of it as a beverage for the afternoon or evening. It's funny how so much of eating/drinking is the ritual for me.

maureencd wrote:Thank you both for the suggestions. In fact, I do enjoy tea quite a bit but for some reason I think of it as a beverage for the afternoon or evening. It's funny how so much of eating/drinking is the ritual for me.

I go through phases of being a coffee or a tea drinker. When I'm in my tea phase, I find that decaf green teas are generally quite good, especially in the morning with a little added milk and honey.

A coffee's first responsibility is to be caffeinated.
A beer's first responsibility is to be alcoholic.
A wine's first responsibility is to be red.

I can prove it with charts and graphs.

eatchicago wrote:

maureencd wrote:I find that decaf green teas are generally quite good, especially in the morning with a little added milk and honey.

EC, I once endured seeming limitless abuse for suggesting that a turkey burger might be made edible. I now bite my tongue at the thought of responding to the blasphemy, the indignity, the unnatural coupling of milk and green tea.

David "Different Strokes, I Suppose" Hammond

I'll second the Intelligentsia decaf. The Decaf Black Cat SWP is the strongest, actually an espresso roast, but it makes a great decaf coffee.

We drink 1/2 caf right now - 1/2 Decaf Black Cat and usually 1/2 Red Sea Blend (Which is 1/2 Ethiopian 1/2 Another African choice. My only disappointment is they rarely have Tanzanian.) I just mix the beans in my Cuisinart Grind n Brew.

Enjoy!

David Hammond wrote:I now bite my tongue at the thought of responding to the blasphemy, the indignity, the unnatural coupling of milk and green tea.

Well, I got the idea from a milky green tea bubble tea (a honey-milk-green-tea one to be exact). So if you feel the need to respond, maybe write a stern letter to Joy Yee

I think the combo tastes quite good.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:Well, I got the idea from a milky green tea bubble tea (a honey-milk-green-tea one to be exact). So if you feel the need to respond, maybe write a stern letter to Joy Yee

Must admit, I like Joy Yee bubble tea, too.

This is getting off the decaf coffee thought and probably deserves a separate thread, and I don't want to make too much of this, but last night, walking by nearly empty KS Seafood, Happy Chef, etc., and seeing a line way out the door of Joy Yee, I had to ask myself: why the heck is Joy Yee so popular? Is it the 1,000 item menu? The accessibility, brand, pricing, what?

David Hammond wrote:

eatchicago wrote:Well, I got the idea from a milky green tea bubble tea (a honey-milk-green-tea one to be exact). So if you feel the need to respond, maybe write a stern letter to Joy Yee

This is getting off the decaf coffee thought and probably deserves a separate thread, and I don't want to make too much of this, but last night, walking by nearly empty KS Seafood, Happy Chef, etc., and seeing a line way out the door of Joy Yee, I had to ask myself: why the heck is Joy Yee so popular? Is it the 1,000 item menu? The accessibility, brand, pricing, what?

You've got me. The teas are the only enjoyable things I've ever had there, and I can only drink about 1/4th of one before I'm done.

No regular coffee?
That's tough.

I once had a reaction to some medication, and the result was no alcohol and no coffee for about a week. Giving up the alcohol was easy (I usually have a glass of wine with dinner every night). Giving up the coffee? I almost couldn't do it. I ended up going with de-caf tea, but it wasn't the same, as my body felt the need to tell me about every three minutes from about 7:00 to 11:00 every morning for that week.

Best wishes in these trying times.

Just wondering if there were any new suggestions on this issue. I don't want to give up regular coffee but for the moment I really think I should (it aggravates a problem I'm having) and yet I just can't get excited about decaf. It always tastes so flat. Help!

The stuff by local roasters (Intelligentsia, Metropolis) are very good. Are you looking for beans or just a cafe that serves the stuff?

Darren72 wrote:The stuff by local roasters (Intelligentsia, Metropolis) are very good. Are you looking for beans or just a cafe that serves the stuff?

Beans

Yeah, then I would check out beans from those local roasters. They are available at each places' local cafes and are also sold at a variety of other places around town. Whole Foods sells a variety of beans too, but you just have to be careful that you aren't buying old beans. If you go to WF, I'd probably try the ones roasted in-house.

I googled "best tasting decaf coffee" and found this Chowhound thread that might have some useful suggestions for you.

Hi- I drink half caff, and when I can get it on sale I get the eight o'clock. I am not sure though if Jewel still carries it though. The last time I bought it they had it on clearance for $3 for a huge can, and I think I bought three cans of it. Other times I mix decaf and caffeinated coffee, but I have found out that at Jewel anyway, there is very little decaf coffee. I was at the Jewel on Howard Wednesday, and they even got rid of their bulk coffee section. I ended up getting their Wild Harvest decaf, but I am not crazy about it. I wish Jewel would carry more decaf in bags, and especially whole bean. I don't think I saw any whole bean decaf at that particular Jewel. I' ve even looked at other Jewels, and it is the same situation, where they have very little decaf coffee in bags. At least at the Jewel on Green Bay in Wilmette, you can get decaf coffee in bulk. It seems like at Jewel anyway though, 90% of the coffee they sell is caffeinated. BTW- If you ever go to Walker Brothers pancake house, they have really good decaf. It is a kona blend.

I used to be a major coffee drinker, but then I would get migraines on the weekends when I would sleep in, and so I decided to eliminate caffeine, but I made the mistake of going cold turkey, and I got caffeine withdrawal headaches for about a week, and then every time I did consume caffeine, I got the shakes. Finally after six months, I went back to consuming caffeine, but I only consume the equivalent of two caffeinated cups of coffee a day.anyway. Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi- I thought there was a coffee roaster that was going to open up in Evanston on Orrington maybe? I used to occasionally buy Casteel coffee, which I loved, but apparently they are not going to open up again, like they said they were. Thanks, Nancy

I like Gevalia and Caribou Coffee's decaf coffees. I also buy fair trade coffee when we have it for sale at church.

If for whatever reason somebody can't get to a place that carries local roaster decaf (or maybe just wants to try something else), I can recommend The Coffee Fool in Minneapolis. They have quite a variety of decaf options, I've only tried the Sumatra Mandheling, Swiss water process. Very tasty.

I quit caffeine cold turkey 18 months ago. Didn't even drink decaf for four months because I was afraid it would make me long for the real thing. After four months of floundering around for a morning drink (decaf tea does not cut it in the morning), I tried Starbucks decaf Italian and French roasts. I find these to be an excellent morning drink. (I've always preferred dark roasts, when drinking regular coffee.) I've served these to a number of coffee drinkers who did not guess that it was decaf.

Then I started trying regular tea, and found it was very satisfying. No more than two mugs a day, still aiming to limit the caffeine. It is a real pleasure not to be physically addicted to coffee - I love the fact that I don't NEED it in the morning.

That said, this endless winter got to me - after one too many days when I just really wanted to hibernate, I decided I needed a cup of coffee once a day for the caffeine jolt. But I don't anticipate a big problem going back to tea and decaf once the weather is a bit better and there are more hours of light.

The better half, who is a coffee junkie, fwiw, swears by these for homebrew decaf:
Trader Joes Ultra Dark French Roast Decaf for beans, and
Archer Farms (Target brand) French Roast for pre-ground.

I drink maybe two cups of coffee per week, so, I can't vouch for anything. She used to be an Intelligentsia fanatic, but now settles for Starbucks because of proximity. I soooo remember when holliday / bday shopping was a snap - 3 or 4 pounds of Intelligentsia's "Foglifter" would have me in good graces for a few months...#simplertimes

You are right, decaf can taste flat. There's some kind of a snappy thing that caffeine does beyond just the buzz. Try titrating your caffeine down, going to 1/2 caf, then maybe 1/4 caf, and then to decaf. See if you can tolerate the taste then, when you aren't comparing it to regular? I like Peet's Decaf Major Dickason's. There's a Peet's in Evanston and one in Chicago near North and Sheffield. They sell Peet's at Target, but I've never seen this particular one there.

leek wrote:Try titrating your caffeine down

You sound like such a geek, leek. What did you major in?

Seriously, though... I did something similar, and thereby gradually scaled down from drinking several cups a day (or rather, several cups a night, during grad school) to just one, then tea, and now I often don't finish my one cup of tea in the morning. I still do enjoy the aroma and flavor of really good coffee, but I never feel like I "need" coffee. I recommend the gradual approach.