Coffee is a morning ritual for millions and millions of people, but not everyone wants or needs the caffeine boost that usually comes with drinking a mug of hot Joe. Fortunately, there are plenty of decaffeinated products available to the coffee drinker who enjoys the rich taste of coffee but don’t want the jitters that can sometimes come with drinking a lot of it. For those individuals, we’ve decided to find out which decaffeinated products were available to them. During our search, we’ve looked over dozens of products until we were able to narrow down the selection to only a few of the best brands. And we’ve listed the best decaf coffee products below for the convenience of all of our readers.

Quick Summary of the Best Decaf Coffees

Best Overall: Kirkland Signature Colombian Dark Roast Decaf

Let us begin this review by saying that this coffee might not be for everyone who enjoys decaf coffee. That’s because it’s a dark roast coffee, so it’s bolder than most of the other ones that we’ve reviewed. It’s also a product that seems to kick a person in the pants, despite it being a decaffeinated blend. However, having said that, we do believe that this is one of the best brands available. It’s certainly a coffee that we liked and that we think some other dark roast enthusiasts might like as well. Although to be honest, we have to say that we weren’t very familiar with the Kirkland brand name. But, we decided to give it a shot and were quite pleased with what we discovered.

The first reason why we like this coffee is that it is made with 100% Colombian dark-roasted beans. These beans are ground to a fine grind, and when they’re brewed, they create a very smooth drinking coffee. When we say smooth, we don’t mean mild, but we mean that it has less of an acidic edge than most other coffee brands. Another thing that we liked about this coffee was that it was inexpensive. At the time of this review, Kirkland was selling two 48-ounce cans (yes, 6-pounds altogether) for a very reasonable price. That’s enough bold, smooth drinking coffee to help a person keep their morning coffee ritual for quite a long time to come. We highly recommend it.

What we liked about it
– This product is very good value.
– It has a smooth flavor.

Best K-Cup Decaf: Peet’s Decaf Especial K-Cup Coffee Pods

Although this product is only for consumers with K-cup coffee machines, for those of our readers who are equipped with these machines, these are the K-cup pods to get. That’s because this is a masterful blend of decaffeinated coffee that has a medium body and a taste that isn’t too acidic. It’s decaffeinated using a water process, which removes most of the caffeine from the grounds, and it has a lively flavor profile that most of our readers are going to love.

Another thing that makes us recommend this product, is that it is manufactured under the watchful eye of Keurig themselves. That means that the consumer isn’t going to get a knock-off pod for the K-pod machine that’s likely to fail or have an inferior flavor profile. This is a 100% genuine product that consumers can pop into their K-pod machine and know that they’re going to get the same quality coffee every single day without huge fluctuations in flavor or body.

What we liked about it
– It’s a smooth medium roast coffee.
– This is quality coffee.

Best Organic Decaf: Subtle Earth Organic Swiss-Watter Decaf

The problem with some decaffeinated coffees is that the caffeine is removed from them using chemicals. Fortunately, that’s not the case with this coffee. It’s a whole-bean coffee that’s been decaffeinated using the Swiss Water method—a method that removes most of the caffeine from coffee but does it naturally. This product is also GMO-free and is made from 100% Arabica coffee beans that have been sourced from Honduras. And when you start off with a natural and wholesome product and then prepare it correctly, you end up getting a product that’s very high-quality like this one.

Although buying this product because it’s more environmentally-friendly and organic is noble, the best reason to purchase these beans is that they have an incredible flavor. They are rich with a velvety body that’s very smooth and has plenty of flavor depth. We also tasted a few chocolaty overtones to it. Sure, these coffee beans might be a little oily, which is not uncommon with medium-dark roasted beans, but that doesn’t affect its great flavor. We highly recommend these organic coffee beans for anyone who wants a more natural decaf coffee.

What we liked about it
– This is an organic whole bean decaf coffee.
– It has very low acid

Best Flavored Decaf: Maxwell House International French-Vanilla Decaf

We think that most people are familiar with Maxwell House International products, so we’re not going to recap the products that they sell. What we will talk about, however, is their current French Vanilla coffee. This decaffeinated coffee is kind of like creamer and coffee all rolled into one. That allows it to introduce a bit of flavor into a person’s life. And people don’t have to worry about adding sugar into their life because this is a sugar-free product.

This product has a smooth texture and a creamy flavor that’s a welcome addition to anyone’s morning coffee routine. It’s an instant coffee, so it quickly dissolves in hot water or milk, which makes it highly convenient. However, we would be remiss in our assessment of our product if we didn’t mention that this product has one flaw. And that flaw is that it has added artificial flavors and colors that some people might not want in a coffee product. It also has quite a bit of saturated fat in it. If those two are problems for the consumer, then they might want to choose a different product—despite this one is very tasty.

What we liked about it
– This is a great tasting sugar-free decaf coffee.
– It’s easy-to-use.

Best Whole Bean Decaf: Kicking Horse Dark Roast Coffee

Although there are other whole bean coffees that we have liked, we do feel that this is one of the best whole bean decaf coffees available. It’s expertly roasted and doesn’t have as much of an oily texture as some other whole bean products tend to have. It’s also a product that’s Kosher, Fairtrade sourced, certified organic and is decaffeinated using the Swiss water process. All of which makes this shade-grown Arabic coffee one worth checking out.

This product is sourced from Central and South America and is then roasted at the base of the Rocky Mountains. It has a flavor that’s a blend of chocolate notes commingled with the notes of roasted hazelnuts. It also has a balanced body that’s not too bitter nor too smooth. Although this product does cost more than some of the other coffees we’ve tried, we do think that it’s a great tasting coffee that’s sure to impress.

What we liked about it
– This is a great dark-roast whole-bean coffee.
– It’s not oily like some other dark roasted coffees.

A Guide To Decaffeinated Coffee

As we’ve learned, decaffeinated coffee is a great way for a person to get a morning pick up and do it without having to lean on caffeine. Decaffeinated coffee has the same boldness and richness of ordinary coffee, but without the jitteriness that comes with the ingestion of too much caffeine. We’ve always been a fan of decaf coffee and we know that there are millions of people who agree with us.

Decaf coffee might be great, but sometimes it can also seem a bit mysterious. Most people don’t know what they should be looking for when purchasing a decaffeinated coffee, and the coffee manufacturers don’t give consumers a lot of guidance on the subject. That’s why we’ve decided to step up and provide all of our readers with the information they need on this subject.

Let’s begin this guide with a brief explanation of what consumers should look for when purchasing a decaf coffee for the first time. Although some people erroneously believe that all decaffeinated coffee products are the same—the reality is that nothing could be further from the truth. There’s plenty of differences between different brands, and it is these differences that can determine if the consumer buys a product they enjoy and one they don’t. 

[wc_fa icon=”cutlery” margin_left=”” margin_right=”10″ class=””][/wc_fa]Step One: Determine A Decaffeination Method

The first thing the consumer is going to want to think about is how they want their beans to be decaffeinated. For those who might not be aware of the fact, coffee is decaffeinated using one of three different methods. Coffee is decaffeinated using the Swiss Water Method, The Solvent Method, and the CO2 Method. Let’s take a brief look at each of these decaffeination processes below. 

[wc_fa icon=”spoon” margin_left=”” margin_right=”10″ class=””][/wc_fa]The Swiss Water Method

This method uses water to remove caffeine from the beans instead of using chemicals. This is how the process works. Green coffee beans are placed in a pressurized vessel and heated water is circulated through them. As the beans absorb this water, they swell and the coffee bean’s pores begin to open. The caffeine is then washed away from the beans. The lack of chemicals in the process makes this one of the best methods for decaffeinating coffee, although it does remove some of the flavor compounds from the beans as well. This process also leaves anywhere from 1.5% to 3% of the bean’s caffeine intact. 

[wc_fa icon=”spoon” margin_left=”” margin_right=”10″ class=””][/wc_fa]The Solvent Method

This method uses two different chemicals to remove caffeine from coffee beans. These two chemicals are Methylene Chloride and Ethyl Acetate. This process takes moistened beans that are soaked in water and them pressurized. As the beans begin to swell, their pores begin to open and they’re placed into these chemicals. This process results in up to 99% of the caffeine to be removed from the beans, but many people don’t like the chemicals used during the process, so they may want to avoid coffees processed in this way. 

[wc_fa icon=”spoon” margin_left=”” margin_right=”10″ class=””][/wc_fa]The CO2 Process

Also known as the Carbon Dioxide Method, this process uses CO2 to remove the caffeine from the coffee beans. Moistened coffee beans are placed in a vessel of some sort and then pressurized with liquid carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide then draws the caffeine out of the coffee beans. This product removes a good deal of the caffeine from the coffee beans but does it without the potentially harmful effects of the chemical process. It also prevents flavor compounds from being washed away. Of course, this method is more expensive than either of the two previous methods, so it’s usually only used for high-end coffees. 

[wc_fa icon=”cutlery” margin_left=”” margin_right=”10″ class=””][/wc_fa]Step Two: Choose A Roasting Process

The next thing that the consumer is going to want to do is to choose a roasting process. Although there are points between the different roasting methods we could over-analyze, we’re going to keep this guide simple and just concentrate on the four basic coffee roasts: Light Roast, Medium Roasts, Medium-Dark Roasts, and Dark Roasts. 

[wc_fa icon=”spoon” margin_left=”” margin_right=”10″ class=””][/wc_fa]Light Roast Coffee

Light roast coffee has a light brown color and a body to match. They also are usually more acidic than other types of coffees and have a slightly toasted grain taste to them. 

Some of the names of the coffees available include:

  • Half City
  • Light City
  • Cinnamon Roast 
  • New England Roasts. 

[wc_fa icon=”spoon” margin_left=”” margin_right=”10″ class=””][/wc_fa]Medium Roast Coffee

These coffees have more body than light roasts coffees and have a medium brown color to them. They aren’t as grainy as light roasts and have a balanced flavor. They’re not low-acid, but they’re not high-acid coffees either. That makes them quite balanced coffees.

Some of the names of the coffees available include: 

  • American Roast
  • Regular Roast
  • City Roast
  • Breakfast Roast

[wc_fa icon=”spoon” margin_left=”” margin_right=”10″ class=””][/wc_fa]Medium-Dark Roasts

These beans are a little oilier than light or medium roasted coffees. They also have somewhat of a spicy aroma and a body that’s heavier than medium roasted coffees. 

Some of the names of the coffees available include: 

  • After Dinner Roast
  • Vienna Roast
  • Full-City Roast

[wc_fa icon=”spoon” margin_left=”” margin_right=”10″ class=””][/wc_fa]Dark Roasted Coffees

These coffees have a dark brown or black color to them and are usually oily. They tend to have a smoky or bitter taste to them and they usually have less caffeine in them due to their extensive roasting time. 

Some of the names of the coffees available include: 

  • French Roast
  • Italian Roast
  • Continental Roast
  • Spanish Roast
  • New Orleans Roast

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