People have requested that we offer a pre-blended espresso, a decaf counterpart to the Espresso Monkey blend. Working under the codename of the "Donkey Blend" (don't ask how all these ridiculous names started ---I think it was George's fault) we came up with this. It is intended to be used several ways. As an all-decaf espresso blend I wanted it to work well under a wide variety of roasting conditions, in terms of both lighter Northern Italian type espresso roasts (the equivalent of a Full City to Vienna Roast) and the darker Southern Italian type roast (roasted to a French roast). I also wanted a good espresso from both air and drum roasters, and I wanted good crema. This is a lot to ask from a decaf, but I think this blend works very well. While origin tastes are muted in decafs, I think the bittersweet roast tastes from this blend are very good. My second focus was having the blend not have too much character so that it can be used as a base blend for a "low-caf" espresso. This means it should work well as 50-75% of your blend where you add other caffeinated coffees to give more aromatics and flavor: my choice would be a Ethiopian Harar, or a Central American (see our Blending Basics article for more). Why do we call this Donkey Blend? Frankly, I can't remember .. it just is...

Decaf Brazil is a mild cup, and one of its best uses is for decaf blends (espresso, or to add body to darker roast drip-brewed decaf mix). But it can offer an interesting straight roast if you target the right roast level. It adds body and is a good "backdrop" in terms of roast taste. A backdrop coffee fills out the background of the cup and does not interfere with your "highlight" coffees, the ones that are going to be the exclamation point of your cup character. If you want earthiness in the cup, a Sumatra or Sulawesi can do this for you and provide body. But if you are not trying to develop an earthy "wild" blend, but want a cleaner espresso cup, then Brazil is very useful. It has great espresso use to create low-CAF or decaf blends with body and depth. If you like a very soft espresso cup, you will enjoy this Brazil as a straight decaf espresso (its a bit too mild for me). This Cerrado-region coffee is a traditional Brazilian dry-process coffee. What's that mean? Dry-process means that the ripe coffee cherry is picked by hand, laid out on patios to dry and then the outer pod and inner parchment layers are removed in one milling process to reveal the green coffee seed. But the old traditional Brazilian dry-process was dried on the tree, not on a patio! When a coffee is 100% tree-dried it can be too wild and have unpleasant off flavors. So before decaffeinating this coffee originates with a good lot of coffee, and the new water processor in Mexico that is producing decafs with more origin character than the previous SWP sources.

Although the aromatics are low, this is an excellent "special purpose" coffee, great for a lo-caf blend base, and it's a nice low acid brewed cup at C+ roast. The flavor has a nutty tone in the lighter roasts, and creamy body, with mild chocolate biscuit roast taste emerging at FC level. There is a slightly fruity, caramelly sweetness. For espresso, it produces adequate crema, and works as a backdrop for your caffeinated grace note coffees in the blend (Yemeni, Harar, Etc). The shots I have pulled with 100% Brazil WP decaf were very nice too, but would not cut through milk in cappuccino etc very well. Of course, if you make your cap correctly (1.5 oz espresso and a maximum of 3 oz milk) it will do fine. If you need an all-decaf espresso I would recommend 60% Brazil decaf, 20% of an Indonesian decaf like Sumatra, and 20% of a Central American decaf or Ethiopia decaf.

This is a Swiss Water Process decaf of a blended Guatemala from Sertinsa's Beneficio Almolonga dry mill. The coffees in this are from Santa Rosa and Mataquescuintla (Jalapa), 1400-1800 meters, and a mix of varietals as much as a mix of farms. It's not estate coffee. That said, I think it's quite good. These areas, toward Honduras, produce some very balanced coffees that still have a striking brightness in the cup. We have been having nice results from SWP, with custom lots that we send there from our own stocks. This one is a fresh batch that they just completed from a coffee we did not send, but we basically arranged in advance. I think the result is really nice, and has a lot of origin character in lighter and darker roast levels.

The dry fragrance has a nice honey and toffee sweetness, which come through clearly in the wet aromatics as well. The cup is quite bright for a decaf coffee! The acidity has a piney character, and strikes the palate immediately, fading into a pleasant roast sweetness. (It actually reminds me of one of the dulces typicos, candies made in Antigua and found at the shop of Dona Maria Gordillo). As the cup cools, a cherry fruited note emerges. To experience the brighter notes of this decaf, City+ roast is ideal. Given the way decafs color, achieving this roast level is not easy! Use all your sense, sight, sound and smell, and watch your roast carefully. Decafs can get away from you in the roaster.

This is the Swiss Water Decaf version of the same coffee we carry from Herbazu. Cafetalera Herbazu is a well-known farm in the West Valley region, the Lourdes de Naranjo area to be exact. It is one of the early pioneers in independent, small mill coffee farms, the work of the Barrantes family. They grow a type of Villa Sarchi cultivar that they have used for so long, it has become their own mutation in a way. It's quite a short plant (Villa Sarchi is a dwarf mutation of Bourbon. The mill and drying patios are right in the center of the farm, which ranges from 1550 to 1700 meters. I have been there a couple times and have always been impressed with how efficient and neat the mill looks, as well as the trees, which are kept well-pruned and short. We thought this would make a really nice decaf, that the brighter notes and sweetness would come through after decaffeination, and I think it was a great success.

While this coffee is aromatically different than it's non-decaf counterpart, the real Herbazu flavor comes through in the cup. The dry fragrance has an odd sweetness, typical for decafs in general, cocoa-like, but more like Ovaltine. There's a malty sweetness in the wet aroma, a slight cherry note as well, but it's a little medicinal (again, typical for decafs). The cup flavor is different though. The rindy citrus bright note of Herbazu comes straight through when the cup is hot, and gives it a refreshing quality which intensifies as it cools. There is caramel-molasses sweetness in the cup that also lingers into the long aftertaste, with a dusting of cocoa powder. The brightness starts out as Meyer lemon in tone, and becomes a sweeter, softer citrus later, more mandarin-like. Again, these qualities intensify quite nicely as the cup cools, and I had an impulse to make iced coffee afterward; it was great! Something very important to note about this Herbazu decaf, and generally true for others; it scores at least 2 points lower when it is brewed too soon after roasting. It needs at least 24 hours post roast to settle down, for the body to develop, and sweetness as well. Un-rested roasts have a bready sweetness, like dark rye bread. It's not bad, just odd. And, as we state often, roasting by color is difficult. Use smell and sound to aid you while roasting, since surface color is much darker with decafs relative to the actual degree of roast. FYI: When you grind the coffee, you can see roast color much more accurately. But this only informs you after-the-fact.

This originated with two really nice wet-processed coffees from the current crop, a Yirga Cheffe cooperative coffee and our Suke Quto lot from Shakiso, farther south. We knew these two would compliment each other, and tried them out blended and unblended before sending them direct from our warehouse to the Swiss Water plant for their filtration decaf treatment. We are really happy with the results! We were happy too with the physical results, because our last lot of Ethiopia Swiss Water Decaf (which was a great cup actually), was fractured in the process. But they were so cool, they actually bought the coffee from us, and the next lot we sent worked out perfectly. The problem is the water activity level in the coffee. The one we sent was quite low, and when it was rehydrated in the decaf process, it split. We notice some end splitting on a few beans in this lot, but it doesn't affect the roast dynamic or the cup. I know that, because the cup is really outstanding! (I don't give 87 points to many decafs).

The dry fragrance has floral hints, nutty roast tone, and a graham cracker sweetness. The wet aroma from the light roast is very sweet as well, dripping in honey, with a touch of citrus. Darker roasts have a deep caramel sweet scent. I know this might sound like odd praise, but this cup has no detectable "decaf aroma," that typical and ubiquitous scent from most decafs that mark them as something, uh, "different." I think it is at it's zenith in terms of brightness, sweetness, and has maximum "origin character" at City + roast level. The cup flavors are very balanced, and the acidic brightness more mild than the non-decaf lots. In other respects, it is so similar to the ingredient coffees: honey and caramel sweetness, jasmine-like floral flavors, ripe orange notes, graham cracker. The body is not thick, but has a creamy mouthfeel. I had nice results throughout the roast range. Listen carefully to the roast, track the smell, target City+ roast level, and remember that surface color on a SWP decaf can fool you! It is actually greener than most decafs, but still colors to a darker color than the resulting taste of the coffee would suggest. This Yirga Cheffe - Shakiso blend is definitely one of the most aromatic, delicate and sweet decafs we have had in recent memory.

This is from a lot of from the Southern Huila area of Pitalito, Colombia. It is pooled from several producer groups in this zone. Rather than shipping it to a decaffeinator in Mexico, Germany or Canada, it is decaffeinated right in Colombia. The plant is called Descafecol, located in Manizales, Caldas. It's a state-of-the-art facility, partly owned by Coffein Compagnie from Germany. The method used is direct contact type using Ethyl Acetate, which can be naturally derived from fruits and vegetables, thus is called a natural decaf method. It can result in more fruited flavors in the cup, in my experience. When well done, it is ideal since it results in good cup quality and is a benign method as well.

The La Serrania cup is very nice, and does not have overt "decafy" flavors that are often found in such coffees. The dry fragrance is very pleasant, with granola-like nut and sweet grain scents, and apple-raisin fruited notes. The wet aroma shows a unique anise-licorice scent. The cup is quite sweet, and has nice creamy body. Molasses-like sweetness, anise seed, and raisin fruit sweetness dominate the cup. As it cools, it has a pleasant sweet savory quality, and the body seems to thicken. We noticed a better cup quality when we increase the batch size by about 20% in the roaster.

There is no place called Sumatepia. I just made it up. It's a combined form for Sumatra, Guatemala and Ethiopia, the three coffees that make up the Sumatepia blend Swiss Water Decaf. It's an awful name for an incredible coffee. We had such a great result with our previous custom blend, El Papuma, we chose to do it again. While you cannot know for sure how a decaf will turn out, I had a pretty strong feeling that these would be ideal, and result in a sweet, syrupy, moderately bright coffee. We also thought it would be a dual use coffee blend, for decaf drip and decaf espresso. After all, if you send really good coffees for decaffeination, there's a fine chance you will get a great result like this. A few years back there were importers and brokers who sent good coffees for decaf, when the market was low. But the added cost of the decaf toll charge on top of record prices has made the big guys shy to do this. Most decafs sold in the trade are nothing we would consider buying as a non-decaf for our offer sheet. Do decaf drinkers deserve worse quality than the rest? That's why we have started sending our own coffees whenever possible, ones we have proudly offered on our site. This is basically a modified Mokha Java type blend. The coffees are Sumatra Dry Hulled Aceh Bukit, Guatemala Acafesam Cooperative (only about 15% of the blend, and Ethiopia Harar Longberry. The results are absolutely stunning!

Not only does Sumatepia smell super sweet, it also does not have the usual scent or taste of decaf coffee. The coffee grounds have an intense sweetness, and fruited notes of guava and peach pie. The wet aroma has savory sweetness, molasses, fig and raisin bread toast scents. The cup flavors have the character of a Mohka Java in the aromatic woody hint, fruited notes (dried apricot), mulling spice accent, and slick, syrup-like body. There are hints of tamarind, cinnamon stick, and some background Sumatra foresty hints. It is complex, intense, very flavorful, and simply does not read like a decaf at all to my palate. It's just outstanding, and one of the highest decaf scores I have ever given. I recommend 24-48 hours rest after roasting, which increases sweetness and body. I really like this coffee as decaf espresso. It might be on the bright side for some espresso tastes (my roasts were in the FC range, no second crack. Darker levels would tone the espresso down a bit). It is very sweet, even if it is a bit tricky to dial in the roast level do to the normal decaf issue: the coffee looks darker to the eye than it truly is. You can see roast level much better in the ground coffee than the whole bean, although that won't help you during the roast process.

This lot of decaf coffee stood out on the cupping table, but we don't know a lot about it's origin. It had a lot of sweetness in the aroma and cup, and an overall clean taste. While we prefer to know the origin of our coffees or arrange direct purchasing, we are not above buying a coffee that cups well but comes to us through an indirect route. It's supposed to be about cup quality, in the end. Anyway, this is from the Oaxaca state, rated as an HG (High Grown, Altura) coffee. This coffee originates from a pooled wet-process lot and is then decaffeinated using the water process method in Mexico.

The dry fragrance and wet aromatics are fruited, with suggestions of raisin and caramel. There's a bit of that typical "decafy" aroma when you add water to the grinds, but it's rather sweet and pleasant. This was a standout in cupping, with a very clean, crisp, bright note in the cup, hinting at a good HG green coffee. There is a baked apple fruit note in the cup at City+ roast level, and some roasted almond nut flavors, with brown sugar and nut skins in the finish. The Full City+ roast has a nice chocolate roast tone that is not unlike the Mexican hot chocolate cakes you get from Oaxaca. The body is surprisingly thick when the coffee is rested 24+ hours after roasting. That's pretty much in line with non-decaf Oaxaca coffees. It works best at City+ roast where a raisin-like sweetness prevails over the roast taste, but also does quite well with a Full City + or even a light Vienna roast treatment, turning sweetly pungent at the darker levels. Mild, balanced, pleasant ... it's a nice decaf, and works well for decaf espresso as well.

We have been so encouraged by taking charge of our own decaf program that we just can't stop. Many roasters buy decafs that are spot coffees, essentially off-the-shelf stock available from an importer or coffee broker. Just as our Farm Gate program allows us more involvement in selecting coffees at the farm or mill level, working in a more direct way, selecting coffees for decaf from our own stock ensures traceability. And the results have been great. This new blend is from two Farm Gate coffees, Rwanda Impala Cooperative from the Shanga-Nyamasheke area of Western district, and Ethiopia Hana Bosoke Cooperative from Illubabor. (I clipped the name to make it flow better, my apologies to Illubabor). While you cannot know for sure how a decaf will turn out, I had a pretty strong feeling that this would be an ideal blend, and result in a sweet and bright coffee. The results are beyond my highest expectation. I could not believe the coffee was decaf, and it is amazingly sweet in the cup.

The Shanga Babor blend has a dry fragrance from the ground coffee with molasses and cane sugar sweetness, raisin-plum-fig-peach fruit; it has no trace of the typical decaf-y smell. Amazing. The wet aroma has the same complex fruit mix, with almond oil on the break. In addition to a nice, syrupy body, the sweetness is the first thing that impresses with this cup. Their are similar fruits in the sapid taste as in the aroma: peach, apricot, plum, raisin. While there is a brightness in the cup, it pertains more to roast level than acidity, as the Full City roast seems very moderate in flavorful acids. The finish has a dark brown sugar overlay on the fruit tastes, with sweetness extending long into the aftertaste. The cup flavors really embody both the Rwanda and Ethiopia flavors well. As with other decafs, the external coloring of the bean during roasting is difficult to judge. Use the sounds and smell of the roast as well as sight to determine roast level! Decaf espresso from the FC+ roast is unreal. (That's how we say "really great" in California-speak).