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8 best decaf coffees for serious flavour without the buzz

These are the whole bean, ground and instant joes that came out on top

Zoe Phillimore
Thursday 23 February 2023 10:56 EST
Both a decaf coffee drinker and die-hard regular coffee fans put these to the taste test
Both a decaf coffee drinker and die-hard regular coffee fans put these to the taste test (iStock/The Independent)
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There are lots of reasons why some people can’t or don’t drink caffeine. However, for a long time, the caffeine-free population has suffered awful decaf beverages – but no longer. The new wave of decaf coffees tastes just as good as the caffeinated stuff, without the heart palps.

Pregnant people and those who are breastfeeding are advised to limit their caffeine intake. Others might not have caffeine for other medical reasons. And there are some who are hypersensitive to caffeine. Symptoms for sufferers include headaches, jitters, racing heartbeat and anxiety. If those sound familiar, particularly after you’ve had a cup of coffee, it might be time to think about switching to decaf.

Decaf coffee is made from the same beans as regular coffee, but they go through an extra process to remove the caffeine. There are five different methods to remove caffeine: direct solvent, indirect solvent, Swiss water, sugarcane and carbon dioxide processes. The first two use chemicals to remove caffeine. The Swiss or mountain water process sees beans steamed and then soaked, filtered through charcoal and then dried. As for the sugarcane process, this method uses a natural chemical from sugarcane to treat the beans – it removes caffeine and provides a sweeter taste. The final method – carbon dioxide – involves soaking the beans and then blasting them with CO2.

Most coffee brands use one of the latter three processes, and pretty much every coffee brand has now got in on the decaf act. Whatever your favourite coffee, you’re pretty sure to find a decaf alternative. Finding the right one for you is ultimately a matter of taste. Although most of the caffeine has been removed, it’s worth noting that a very small amount of caffeine does still remain – there will be different levels in different coffees.

How we tested

We spent a month testing the best decaf coffees on the market. As a decaf-only household, we are well versed in the decaf coffee world. However, we wanted a wider take, so we hosted a coffee-tasting session for die-hard coffee fans. We’d say we’ve probably made about 100 cups of decaf coffee to find the best.

Aside from the instant coffee, we used the same device – an aeropress – when making all the coffees, and carried out the same process, using water at the same temperature, each time. We even used timers for brewing. Our GCSE science teachers would be so proud. What we were looking for was a nice taste, ultimately. Something that didn’t sacrifice the flavour along with the caffeine. Of course, everything is subjective, so we’ve accounted for this in our round-up. Here are the ones you’ll want to wake up and smell (and taste) in the morning.

(Zoë Phillimore)

The best decaf coffees for 2023 are:

  • Best overall – Rave Coffee Swiss water decaf no. 11: £7.60, Ravecoffee.co.uk
  • Best medium roast – Tunbridge Wells Coffee Roastery decaf coffee: £8, Twcoffeeroastery.co.uk
  • Best full-bodied decaf coffee – Ozone Coffee el yalcon decaf: £12.25, Ozonecoffee.co.uk
  • Best medium-to-dark roast – Monmouth Coffee Company finca la bolsa decaf: £3.50, Monmouthcoffee.co.uk
  • Best decaf coffee subscription – Batch decaf coffee subscription: £17.99, Batchcoffee.co.uk
  • Best instant decaf coffee – Marks and Spencer gold decaf instant coffee: £3.40, Ocado.com
  • Best for decaf coffee pods – Grind decaf blend coffee: £8, Grind.co.uk
  • Best lighter decaf coffee – Perky Blenders decaf: £9.90, Perkyblenders.com

Rave Coffee Swiss water decaf no. 11

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  • Best: Overall
  • Method: Swiss water
  • Origin: Unspecified

When we were testing this coffee, everyone who tried it let out a “mmm” sound – even those who are coffee aficionados. Because of this huge seal of approval, we’ve made it our best decaf coffee overall. The medium roast produces a mid-bodied coffee, that’s perfect to drink at any time of day. Yet it doesn’t lack flavour, with a rich spiced chocolate taste. We reckon you’d be able to pass off this decaf coffee as the caffeinated stuff, on flavour at least. While it’s not about packaging, we also enjoyed Rave’s brightly coloured bags and the tasting note card that came with it. Rave offers whole bean or ground for cafetiere, espresso or filter/aeropress.

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Tunbridge Wells Coffee Roastery decaf coffee

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  • Best: Medium roast
  • Method: Sugarcane
  • Origin: Colombia

This small roastery in Kent only started out in 2019 but has been making waves in the coffee world. Its decaf coffee is delicious. Made using the sugarcane method, there’s gentle sweetness to the flavour. As it’s a medium-dark roast coffee there is a full flavour and aroma without too much bitterness. Our tasters noted it had a good “tang” and was rounded and smooth. We reckon this makes a great everyday coffee and find it the ideal replacement for the caffeinated stuff first thing in the morning.

This coffee is available as whole beans or ground for cafetiere, filter or espresso machines.

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Ozone Coffee el yalcon decaf

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  • Best: Full-bodied coffee
  • Method: Sugarcane
  • Origin: Colombia

Ozone is a big name in high-end coffee. This is its decaf offering, which doesn’t compromise anything on the flavour. It’s a very rich coffee, with a nutty molasses flavour that lingers and quite a heavy body. This Ozone coffee is absolutely one for those who deeply miss a huge coffee flavour hit. While in the morning we found this coffee too much of a sucker punch for us, it was perfect as an after-dinner coffee or in a decaf espresso Martini. With Ozone, you can select your grind to whatever device you use to make your coffee. It’s heartening to see Ozone is a Certified B Corporation, meaning it’s looking out for the people who make its coffee, and the planet as a whole.

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Monmouth Coffee Company finca la bolsa decaf

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  • Best: Medium-to-dark roast
  • Method: Mountain water
  • Origin: Guatemala

We loved this medium-to-dark roast coffee. Our roast was on the darker side of medium and our testers said they got a strong malty flavour that they’d happily drink instead of caffeinated coffee. It is a strong, full-bodied taste compared with some others in this round-up. Although it has low acidity, we still noted a gently fruity flavour. Absolutely anything other than boring, it’s perfect for a mid-morning pick-me-up… and who doesn’t need one of those?

Monmouth offers six different grinds as well as whole beans.

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Batch decaf coffee subscription

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  • Best: Coffee subscription
  • Method: Mountain water
  • Origin: Mexico

If you love your coffee and want to keep things interesting, Batch coffee offers a coffee subscription service that has a decaf option. This means you’ll get different decaf coffees sent to you from independent UK roasters. In our box, we got Groundstate hipster Stan coffee (Groundstated8.com). Groundstate was set up by a scientist and a yogi – we love a good backstory – and it buys rare lots of single-origin coffee. This particular bean is grown in an organic biosphere reserve in Mexico. It’s a really interesting coffee, with heady flavours of chocolate and raisins. We reckon this subscription would be a wonderful gift for an adventurous fan of decaf coffee.

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Marks and Spencer gold decaf instant coffee

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  • Best: Instant coffee
  • Method: N/A
  • Origin: Unspecified

Look, no judgement here. Sometimes you just need a quick coffee hit and can’t be doing with machines and scoops and water temperatures. For those occasions, good old M&S has come up trumps. This is a medium roast coffee, so it’s not going to blow you away with a rich, full body but neither is it going to be watery and light enough that “you might as well have made tea”. The perfect balance, if you will. The coffee is smooth. Is it going to set discerning palates alight? Probably not. But we did find ourselves reaching for it as convenience over other instant decaf coffees. Another plus point is that it’s Fairtrade certified.

  1.  £3 from Ocado.com
Prices may vary
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Grind decaf blend coffee

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  • Best: For decaf coffee pods
  • Method: Mountain water
  • Origin: Mexico

With a dark-chocolate tang, we had to double check whether this coffee was definitely decaf. There is also a sharp plum-like acidity to it, which created a rich and interesting taste. It’s a mid-roast blend, designed to be taken black or it can take milk too. Grind’s coffees are sustainably sourced, come in compostable bags and with a free coffee tin. You can also subscribe to deliveries or order as a one off, plus you can get them in coffee pods or as whole bean or ground.

  1.  £8 from Grind.co.uk
Prices may vary
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Perky Blenders decaf

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  • Best: Lighter coffee
  • Method: Swiss water
  • Origin: India

Perky Blenders is on a mission to showcase decaf as decent coffee, and for that we love it. Its award-winning decaf was perfect for a less complex, sweeter coffee that pairs really well with milk. The medium roast also means it’s a bit thinner than some of the other richer blends in this round-up. The tasting notes are maple syrup and stewed apple – yum. It’s worth noting that Perky Blinders switches up its blends from time to time, so you might not get the same bag twice. As well as whole bean, this bag of coffee can come as seven different grinds, to make your perfect cup.

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The verdict: Decaf coffee

We highly rate the Rave decaffeinated coffee. The medium-roast coffee packed plenty of flavour with no astringency. Our group of testers said they’d happily swap from caffeinated to this decaf, if only they didn’t crave the caffeine so much. Our mission was to find a decaf coffee that didn’t scrimp on flavour, and we believe we’ve found it with the Rave decaf.

We’ve tried and tested the best bean-to-cup coffee machines for perfecting barista-style java at home

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