Is Decaf Coffee Actually Caffeine-Free?

Few choices feel as critical as the one concerning what beverage to consume at 2 p.m., a time of day when ordering cold brew feels a bit like playing Russian roulette with my sleep schedule, but going the matcha latte route is unlikely to be quite enough to get me over the work day finish line. But there is one way to feel like you’re getting a coffee kick without going full force. 

Just as some of the best nonalcoholic wines echo the taste, texture, and ritual of pouring a glass of Champagne or rosé, a properly made cup of decaf coffee will channel the experience of a fresh pour-over or drip coffee. Read on to learn more about what to expect the next time you order a cup of decaf coffee.

How is decaf coffee made?

Like most tea, all coffee contains caffeine. Samuel Klein, green coffee buyer for Brooklyn-based Partners Coffee, says that while most producers use solvents like methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, or carbon dioxide in the decaffeination process, Partners prefers to use water. “It extracts nearly everything from the green coffee, leaving just the physical structure behind. The resulting slurry is carefully filtered to remove the caffeine and then reincorporated into the coffee,” he explains. Some solvents occur naturally — like ethyl acetate, a byproduct of sugarcane fermentation — or are entirely synthetic, like methylene chloride; Klein says that the team prefers water to chemical solvents both from a worker safety and comfort standpoint but also because water-processed decafs are simply delicious in flavor. 

There are also several environmental factors to consider in decaf coffee production. Only a few facilities in the world can water-process decafs, which means that coffee has to be shipped internationally; most methods also tend to require large amounts of water. 

Does decaf coffee have caffeine?

If you come across a decaf coffee that claims to have absolutely no caffeine, be wary. “Most methods of decaffeination are highly effective, removing up to 99.99% of the original caffeine content, but it is nearly impossible to achieve and guarantee a total of 0%,” Klein says. A similar situation is common with herbal tea and tisanes. “Tea naturally contains caffeine, and you can commonly find decaffeinated black or green tea for sale. Herbal teas or tisanes like rooibos can be sold as caffeine-free if the herbs and botanicals they are made from do not contain caffeine to begin with,” Klein says.

Does decaf coffee taste different than regular coffee?

Caffeine is one of the compounds responsible for coffee’s inherent bitterness, which Klein says is necessary to create structure in each cup. Adjusting the amount of caffeine in coffee fundamentally changes its flavor, even if all other qualities are successfully preserved. “Depending on the method of decaffeination, I like to think of good decafs as being softer and milder tasting, with a sweetness that can often resemble malt, honey, or dried fruit,” explains Klein. Still, even with the slight taste difference, we’ll keep our afternoon cup flowing, and maybe even pour some seconds.