decaffeinated espresso?

[prasantrin]

I have a handy dandy Mukka, which I love dearly. I don't drink coffee on a regular basis, but I do love the milk coffee I get with my Mukka. Unfortunately, I have found that drinking it a) gives me something similar to heart palpitations and b) keeps me up at night. I've been experimenting, and so far I've found that finishing my coffee by 12 pm still keeps me awake for a few hours past my regular bedtime.

So....I thought I'd ask...what say you all about decaffeinated espresso? I know it exists, because I did a search on it. But is it worth drinking? Or shall I just try to suffer through the palpitations and late nights?

edited some bad typing...

Edited June 26, 2006 by prasantrin (log)

[phaelon56]

You might start with "half-caf" - typically achieved by mixing regular espresso blend and decaf espresso blend in a 50/50 ratio. By the way... espresso is a preparation style not a specific bean or roasting style (although there are blends of beans optimized for espresso and marketed as such). And you may find some blends or coffees that are very pleasant as moka pot coffee that aren't necessarily optimal for espresso made with an espresso machine - it's good to experiment,

I don't suggest using just any old blend for decaf espresso if you want best results because some of the crucial components of a good espresso, such as crema, are reduced in decaffeinated beans. But with a moka pot your options are more abundant.

If you live in the Chicago area or are okay with the added cost of getting coffee shipped from an online source I strongly suggest trying Intelligentsia Black Cat decaf espresso blend . They are a large enough company that they're able to take the exact same green beans used in regular Black Cat, send them out to be decaffeinated, and roast those to make their decaf. This is a step that the typical small roaster can't afford to do (I think 1,000 lbs per bean type is the minimum for having a bean decaffeinated to order) and most really large roasters aren't focused enough on espresso quality to bother.

[prasantrin]

If you live in the Chicago area or are okay with the added cost of getting coffee shipped from an online source I strongly suggest trying Intelligentsia Black Cat decaf espresso blend . 

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Thanks! I went to their website. Shipping to Japan is probably a bit pricy, but I'll be in the US for a few weeks this summer so I can have some shipped to wherever I'll be. I'll also be in San Francisco during that time, so if you have any ideas about good decaf blends in SF, I'd love to try them, too!

[TopoTail]

If you live in the Chicago area or are okay with the added cost of getting coffee shipped from an online source I strongly suggest trying Intelligentsia Black Cat decaf espresso blend . 

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I would agree with Owen's recommendation of Black Cat decaf, which is one of several decaf espressos I sampled for an article in the July issue of Fresh Cup magazine. You can find the article Here:

http://www.freshcup.com/back-issues/2006/2006-07/decaf.htm

Like Owen, I can't comment on how any of these coffees might taste prepared in a mocha pot, but there has been tremendous improvement in decaf in recent years and there are some very nice decaf espressos out there--still they work better in milk drinks than as straight shots.

--Richard Reynolds

[scubadoo97]

I have been home roasting coffee for nearly 4 years now. Decaf green beans roast very well with little chaff and the flavor is very good. I see no reason one should have a problem using decaf instead of regular beans for any type of coffee preparation. What will influence the flavor more than anything is the quality of the beans, how the beans were roasted and how long ago they were roasted. Over roasted black "espresso" beans (there is no such thing as an espresso bean) will never make a good espresso. Although moka pot coffee is not espresso it does make a strong rich brew.

[Alex]

I would agree with Owen's recommendation of Black Cat decaf, which is one of several decaf espressos I sampled for an article in the July issue of Fresh Cup magazine. You can find the article  Here:

http://www.freshcup.com/back-issues/2006/2006-07/decaf.htm

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I agree -- Black Cat is quite good. My favorite espresso place here in GR uses the excellent Caffé D'arte decaf, also mentioned in Richard's article. I buy my whole beans there, but I'm pretty sure that Caffé D'arte will sell by mail.

[phaelon56]

A few things to keep in mind about decaf espresso...

1) the roasted beans have a shorter "window of excellence" - i.e. the optimal time for usage when they are at their peak after roasting is several days less than caffeinated - plan accordingly

2) if you're home roasting and doing your own espresso blending you may find that with decaf rather than using a fairly neutral bean like a Brazil at 30 - 50% as a base - you'll get better results by just working towards a mix of the higher flavor note / more distinct beans. You don't really need a base bean to balance out the others because decaf is inherently less intense in flavor profile.

3) absence of abundant crema is an issue but there is such a thing as decaf Monsooned Malabar - adding 10% - 15% of that bean may help crema production in a big way (but don't go too high with MM or the unique funky, musty fruitiness will overpower all your other flavors)

4) again - for home roasters or small batch roasters - many if not most decaf beans seem to have about the same target temp and roast time. Pre-roast blends that can't possibly work in regular beans are often successful and all roast evenly when the beans are decaf (I do a Colombian/Sumatran/Sulawesi pre-roast blend that roasts up beautifullyand very evenly).

[buffy]

Thanks!  I went to their website.  Shipping to Japan is probably a bit pricy, but I'll be in the US for a few weeks this summer so I can have some shipped to wherever I'll be.  I'll also be in San Francisco during that time, so if you have any ideas about good decaf blends in SF, I'd love to try them, too!

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Peets coffee is a good bet in SF and also has reasonable shipping prices to Japan. I have it sent over regularly. Using express mail internatinal it is here in 3 or 4 days. Their decafs are also very good. I contacted Inteligentsia once about shipping to Japan and it was quite a bit more than shipping from Peets.