What in the world is decaf espresso? Many would consider those two words used together as an oxymoron, but they’re really not! Decaf espresso, like regular decaf coffee, is made by removing most of the caffeine from the beans before they are ground and used to make coffee.

You might also like to read: What is espresso?

How much caffeine?

Many of us would think of espresso as a unique kind of coffee bean– but it’s really not! A shot of espresso can be made from many kinds of beans. And while espresso tends to have more caffeine per ounce than “regular coffee”, that really has more to do with the brewing process than with the coffee itself.

A single shot of espresso might have between 30 to 100 mg of caffeine. Surprisingly, your morning cup of coffee probably has around 96 mg of caffeine.

Normally your morning cup of coffee is made by slowly dripping water through unpacked ground coffee beans. Conversely, espresso machines use high pressure to pump hot water through a porta filter filled with a “puck” of compressed, friendly ground coffee.

Making a shot of espresso typically results in a coffee drink with concentrated caffeine. However, just like with regular coffee, there are ways to remove or drastically reduce the amount of caffeine and the resultant shot. The goal is to remove the caffeine without removing the taste or other attributes of the espresso.

Caffeine is typically removed from coffee beans with the use of a solvent of some sort–perhaps water, carbon dioxide or other organic solvents. These processes can remove about 97% of the caffeine and have minimal effect on the taste of the coffee drink. Many prefer processes using pure water to remove the caffeine rather than organic solvents.

Does Starbucks sell decaf espresso drinks?

Starbucks and many other coffeehouses sell decaf espresso drinks as well as decaffeinated coffee beans. Starbucks tends to have slightly more residual caffeine than some other beans. Research has shown a shot of decaffeinated espresso at Starbucks contains in the range of 3 to 15.8 mg per shot.

You might also like to read: How to choose the best coffee beans?

You can purchase decaffeinated beans for your espresso at your favorite coffee shop and many upscale markets. Or you can try some of our favorites:

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Conclusion

So back to the fundamental question: should you drink decaf espresso? The answer is “it depends”.

The reasons for choosing caffeinated or decaffeinated espresso are much the same as how you choose caffeinated or decaffeinated drip coffee. Are you trying to wake yourself up? Or are you trying to make sure you can go to sleep in an hour? How does your stomach react to caffeine? The choice is yours.

A great cup of coffee starts with using the best beans. You may think that only professional baristas can make a really good brew with all their fancy equipment, but the essence of a great cup of coffee is found in the beans themselves – are they richly flavored, roasted for peak flavor, and freshly ground?

The fresher the grind, the more flavorful the cup of coffee. Some baristas use the rule of thumb that coffee should be used within 3 minutes of grinding to maximize taste and subtle flavors. So, if you can get your hands on a good coffee grinder (or your super automatic espresso machine has a a grinder built in), recreating your favorite coffee beverage without having to leave home is only a few grinds away. For the best-tasting drink, you should buy your beans whole and grind them yourself right before brewing.

Choosing the best coffee beans for you

Baristas and most espresso drinkers are familiar with the more common Arabica and Robusta coffee beans, but there are actually are four different types of coffee beans: Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, and Excelsa. The most popular and common coffee beans are Arabica and Robusta; you should try the other two if you find them. It is likely that you will encounter specialty beans by geographic region—such as Kona Coffee or grown organically or following free-trade guidelines. Learn about all these bean varieties and and tips to choose the best coffee beans in this article.

Arabica vs. Robusta coffee beans

Most coffee drinkers prefer Arabica to Robusta. Although Arabica coffees can have a wide range of taste profiles depending on exactly how and where the beans were grown, Arabica coffees tend to be less bitter than Robusta coffees and to have subtler flavors with hints of fruit or chocolate.

That being said, the more bitter taste of Robusta beans often has a place when brewing espresso. Often a blend of Arabica and Robusta beans are used for the best flavor in espresso.

Because of its more subtle and nuanced flavor, most coffee drinkers prefer Arabica. So, Arabica is the most produced and exported coffee worldwide (estimated to be about 60% of coffee traded), but Robusta coffee trees are easier to grow and are less subject to disease for the grower. You will find both beans at your favorite roaster (or for roasting).

If you would like to try coffee made from pure Arabica beans, we would suggest Kauai Whole Bean Coffee, Koloa Estate Medium Roast (view on Amazon) – 100% Arabica Whole Bean Coffee as a wonderful starting point.

Does Robusta produce better Crema?

Many espresso drinkers prefer the smooth, creamy texture from their crema. Using at least some Robusta when making espresso makes it easier to achieve that smooth, creamy texture that many espresso drinkers desire.

Robusta tends to have more caffeine

In fact, it appears to be the higher caffeine that makes the Robusta plant more disease resistant.

If you would like to try the unadulterated flavor of Robusta coffee beans, we suggest that you purchase the following Robusta Whole Bean Coffee from Vietnam (view on Amazon).

Also, make sure you try Liberica and Excelsa Coffee Beans to broaden your coffee experience.

Liberica Coffee Beans

It would be difficult to guess now that more than 100 years ago, Liberica coffee used to be a very popular coffee bean. Now they are considered an unusual treat.

Liberica coffee grows on “trees” 20-30 feet tall and typically in jungle environment. The height of those trees and the typical jungle environment in which they grow make the harvest more difficult than other coffee varieties.

The climates in which they are grown are not conducive to very large-scale production. But at the height of Liberica’s popularity a plant disease called “coffee rust” had wiped out much of the Arabica coffee production worldwide.

The Philippines were first to really commercialize the growth of Liberica coffee, having a climate and geography well suited to the plant.

Liberica Coffee is known for its fruity, floral, and slightly wood flavor, and it was well received in the marketplace. Unfortunately (for the Liberica coffee market), the Philippines which, at that time, belonged to the United States, declared its independence.

In retaliation, the U.S. imposed trade sanctions on the Philippines which dealt a fatal blow to the new coffee industry and to the Liberica coffee bean industry. Now Liberica beans are grown in other, similar tropical locations such as Malaysia.

To try the pure flavor of coffee brewed from library Beans, you might try Aik Cheong Kopi-O Liberica Beans (view on Amazon).

Excelsa Coffee Beans

Excelsa coffee beans are typically from Vietnam where it is often used as a blending coffee that can add complexity to other coffees. Excelsa beans are typically processed using traditional methods including sun-drying.

If you’d like to try the taste of pure Excelsa beans, we suggest ordering this Vietnamese Excelsa Whole Bean Coffee (view on Amazon)

Which Beans Are Best?

All of the coffee bean varieties are “best” for some specific purposes. Why don’t you try a virtual coffee tour and try all four major varieties of coffee beans so you can learn what each brings to the table.

Often coffee aficionados who prefer their coffee “straight up”, unadulterated with creamers, sweeteners, and other flavors, will prefer a light or medium roast Arabica coffee. Those who appreciate a good crema and more caffeine may well chose a hearty Robusta.

Make yourself more knowledgeable and appreciative of coffee varieties!

Check out our suggested choices for coffee beans.

Which coffee beans should I buy?

The best coffee is a very personal decision. Do you value crema? Do you want a mild coffee with floral bouquet? Do you want enough caffeine to knock your socks off?

We’ve tried a wide variety of beans, and we find that many combinations of bean types and roasts are “just right” for particular situations. We suggest that you sample a variety of coffees made the ways you prefer (espresso, pour-over, etc.) and form your own opinion through that experience.

FAQ’s

What are the best beans for espresso brewing?

As always, the ultimate judge of which are the best beans for brewing espresso is you. You should always prefer to use the freshest beans you can find. Especially check out the roast date. Many people find a blend of Arabica beans beans for smooth taste and subtle flavors and Robusta beans to add bold flavor and excellent Crema. You might find it beneficial to start with beings from a big roaster (like Peet’s), and then you can try other beans and have a baseline for comparison.

What are the best coffee beans to use in a French Press?

A French press can be used to brew great coffee from almost any good beans. With a French press you can brew great coffee from dark roasts, blends, or single origin, either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee. So pick your preferred coffee style, put it in your French press, and go for it!

What are the best coffee beans cold brew coffee?

Cold brewing tends to bring out the subtle flavors in coffee beans. You should start your search with beans that emphasize these subtle flavors. For example, you might start with Stonestreet cold brew coffee (view on Amazon) which is both smooth (low acid) and strong. It’s a Colombian single origin Arabica coffee. Use that coffee as your baseline, and feel free to explore from there.

How does Starbucks make cold brew coffee?

Don’t confuse cold brew coffee with iced coffee. Iced coffee is conventional hot coffee poured over ice, whereas cold brew coffee is ground coffee added to cold filtered water and allowed to steep for about 20 hours. If you want to make it easy on yourself, you can buy pouches at Starbucks of cold brew coffee concentrate that you can mix up at home. Otherwise, take your favorite coffee beans, grind them, put them in a picture of cold water and let steep for 20 hours…

Is there such a thing as GOOD decaffeinated coffee?

While the very terms good and decaffeinated coffee seem to be an oxymoron and sacrilegious to some of us, decaffeinated coffees have made huge improvements over earlier chemical tasting decaffeinated coffee. You might start by trying Decaf Dark Roast by Black Ink Coffee (view on Amazon) which is a medium roast decaffeinated by the Swiss water process.

You might also like to read: What is decaf espresso?

What are the best coffee beans in the world?

Some might argue (especially based on price) that kopi luwak, made from coffee beans plucked from the feces of civets, are the best to beans in the world.

Assuming we don’t have any civets handy, many would suggest that Hawaiian coffee from Kona or Kauai beans are among the best in the world.

What is the best whole bean coffee?

While you should always start with whole bean coffee, there is no single best whole bean coffee. The answer, of course, is it depends on your personal tastes and mood. A good start would be to ask your local roaster to give you a quick tour of the coffees they have available–then you can branch out from there.

Is it cheaper to buy green coffee beans?

While it is cheaper to buy green coffee beans, the cost difference is a lot less than you might expect. Green coffee beans contain excess water and oil which is partially lost during the roasting process. Thus, by weight, you will end up with a smaller amount (by weight) of beans than you started with. Additionally, the roasting process itself is energy intensive and certainly will cost you something. The final risk to consider is that you need to buy significant quantities of green beans to save much money, and you may not want to do that because of the beans aging out before you use them. However, there would be a real benefit to buying green beans and roasting them yourself if you have some secret roasting process that produces just the taste you want.

We must admit that the aroma of a fresh brewed coffee from flavored coffee beans can start a cascade in our senses that can only be satisfied by a flavored coffee drink. How does that flavor become infused in the coffee beans? What should you know to enjoy these flavored coffees?

First, flavored coffee beans are becoming more and more popular. Where we once had to go to a specialty coffee shop to get our fix of flavored coffees, we now can ubiquitously find flavored beans at almost any grocery store. Where there used to ben only 2 or 3 flavor choices, we now can find dozens of flavors as whole beans, ground coffee, K-cups, and more.

SF Bay Coffee Hazelnut Crème Whole Bean

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How do the beans get flavored?

Generally, while the beans are being roasted, flavored oils are added to coat and infuse the beans. If you examine the beans closely, you will see that they are typically shiny because of that coating. While that shows you where the flavor comes from, there is a danger that the oily beans will clog up that great grinder you have in your super automatic espresso machine. Additionally, a true espresso grind is too fine for flavored beans, often resulting in a sticky paste unless you always set your grinder to a very coarse grind.

Grinding Flavored Beans

So how do we get a good grind for flavored beans and not gum up the works?

Basically, you may find that an expensive blade grinder works best with flavored beans. The other choice is to grind unflavored beans and then add the flavoring after brewing is complete. While we don’t recommend blade grinders for fine espresso, they work remarkably well to grind flavored beans without clogging.

Hamilton Beach Fresh Grind Electric Coffee Grinder

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What would a Barista do?

If you watch a barista make a flavored coffee drink, you will notice that they first grind unflavored coffee and then add flavored syrup at the end of the process so as to not clog the grinder. That way you get a better result and don’t create a problem at clean-up time.

We suggest you start with a great medium roast bean, grind that bean without flavoring, brew your drink, and then add flavoring in the form of syrups widely available.

Torani Variety Pack

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Related article:

• Visiting a Coffee Cooperative: how do those beans get to my espresso machine?