Most decaf is an afterthought: one anonymous bag at the end of the roaster's list, no farm, no method, no roast date. The thirteen coffees here are the opposite. Three of the five roasters roast nothing but decaf, every bag names how the caffeine came out, and two of them have Coffee Review scores most caffeinated coffee would envy. This page tells you what each roaster actually says about their coffee, when they roast it, and what it costs.
Disclosure: every coffee on this page is sold in our own store and shipped by the roaster who made it; we keep a margin on each bag. That is how this site stays free, and it does not set the order below. Frequent Coffee is sending us free samples in October 2026 at our request; nothing here was ranked for it, and when we write about those samples the page will say they were sent free. How this works →
● Published October 1, 2026Next review: January 2027Roasters change lots — tell us if a line here is out of date
What this is: a read of what each roaster publishes and told us directly: the farm, the variety, the decaffeination method, the roast schedule, and any third-party score. Where a roaster has answered our questions by email (Frequent Coffee, Dekáf, Big Bad Decaf), we quote the answer. Scores from Coffee Review are the roasters' claims, linked on their own pages; we have not checked them against Coffee Review's archive.
What this is not: a cupping. We have not brewed these thirteen side by side, and we are not going to describe flavors we haven't tasted. Every tasting note on this page is the roaster's own, marked as such.
No health claims. People choose decaf for all sorts of reasons. We sell coffee, so the only medical fact here is the FDA's caffeine figure, quoted. Anything beyond that is a question for your doctor.
Prices were read from our store on October 1, 2026. Every bag ships from the roaster: San Diego, Salem (Massachusetts), Saint Paul, Ohio or Brooklyn.
Decaf starts as green, unroasted coffee. The National Coffee Association puts it plainly: "To remove around 97% of the caffeine found naturally in coffee, green coffee beans are warmed and soaked in liquid in one of four ways, all of which are equally safe and FDA compliant." The caffeine comes out before roasting; the roaster then roasts the decaffeinated green beans like any other coffee.
What's left in the cup is not nothing. The FDA: "Decaffeinated coffees and teas have less caffeine than their regular counterparts, but still contain some caffeine. For example, decaf coffee typically has 2 to 15 milligrams in an 8-fluid-ounce cup." The NCA's comparison for the same 8-ounce cup is about 95 mg for regular coffee against 2–15 mg for decaf. Dekáf prints "caffeine: 0.1%" on every bag, which is a figure by weight of the bean, not per cup.
The method is printed on every bag on this page, which is rarer than it should be. The four you'll see here, described in the roasters' own terms:
Which tastes best? We won't pretend to know from reading. What we can say is that the three decaf-only roasters here each chose different methods on purpose, and none of them hides the choice.
Frequent Coffee's claim, linked on their page: this Red Bourbon from producer Wilton Benítez "earned a 94-point score from Coffee Review (April 2026), the highest rating ever awarded to a decaffeinated coffee." Their origin sheet names the farm (La Macarena, Piendamó, Cauca), the variety (Red Bourbon) and the elevation (1,900 m), and their notes are "clarity, balance, and depth" with "an exceptionally clean profile."
Frequent calls itself the "best decaf coffee on the internet (probably)" and then backs the joke with receipts: roast date stamped on every bag, farm and method on every page. Jake at Frequent told us on September 29: "We roast several times throughout the week here in San Diego to ensure our coffee is always fresh, but we're technically not roasting to order."
The catch: 8 oz only, at $3 an ounce the second-dearest bag here, and it's a light roast meant for pour-over, not a dark cup for milk. We have not tasted it; samples are on the way.
The daily one. Frequent's claim: "Sidekick earned a 92-point score from Coffee Review (September 2026)." Their notes are "creamy chocolate, brown sugar, and cherry," and they call it "the huckleberry of coffee." It's grown, in their words, "between 1,300 and 1,800 meters in Colombia's Huila region by the smallholder farmers of the Asprotimana Cooperative," washed at origin, then sugarcane-EA decaffeinated.
A medium roast at $1.92 an ounce in the 12-oz bag, and $119 for 5 lb if a household or an office drinks a lot of it. That is the combination most people actually want from a decaf: good enough to score, cheap enough to drink daily.
Dekáf roasts nothing but decaf, and it is the only roaster on this page that roasts after you order. Their words: "small-batch roasted to order at our roastery" and "shipped within 24hrs of roast." Co-founder Khanh Nguyen confirmed it to us directly: "We do small-batch roast every day here to keep that promise to our customers."
Hush-Hush is their everyday blend, "a soft spoken combination of Brazil's Mogiana sweetness and Ethiopia's Sidamo floral brightness," with notes of "caramel and delicate blossoms." Light-medium roast, caffeine listed at 0.1%. If what you want from decaf is a fresh-roasted bag that doesn't taste like a compromise, start here.
The catch: roasted to order means it leaves after it's roasted, so it is not the bag to buy on a Thursday for Friday morning. Dekáf also says every coffee is lab tested for mold, mycotoxins and heavy metals by an accredited laboratory; that is their claim and we have not verified it.
Most decaf espresso is a dark, flat shot that only survives under milk. Dekáf built this one as an espresso: a medium roast that, in their words, keeps "inherent brightness from Costa Rica, Ethiopia, and Guatemala, ensuring balanced acidity and a crisp crema," with notes of "blackberry jam, toasty s'mores, and a warm toffee nut finish." They add that it "adapts seamlessly to other brew methods," so a household with one bag and two brewers is covered.
Same roasted-to-order promise as Hush-Hush. For a café that needs a decaf espresso by the 5-lb bag, see the café section: Dekáf's 5 lb is $129.95 and Stone Street's Espresso Decaffeinato is $114.
A natural-process Ethiopian that happens to be decaf. Big Bad Decaf's origin notes name the village (Benti Nenka, Guji) and the mill ("Eyasu Worasa's Guduba mill"), and describe "lush berry and stone fruit character balanced by delicate florality and a refined tea-like finish." Swiss Water decaffeinated, which they say "preserves the nuanced complexity that makes Ethiopian coffees exceptional."
Big Bad roasts only decaf, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. CEO Ryan Hurley told us how: "Tim typically roasts twice per week on a 15 lb roaster. We typically package on Monday and Thursday evenings, so orders ship on Tuesday and Friday." Order early in the week and it is roasted that week.
The catch: 8 oz only, and at $3.25 an ounce the priciest bag here. Dekáf's Ethiopia Sidamo Bombe ($21.95 for 12 oz, roasted to order, "apple tart sweetness, bergamot, a watermelon note" in their words) is the other light Ethiopian decaf on the shelf, and the better value if you don't need the natural-process fruit.
The bag to keep on the counter. Big Bad's words: "created for those that seek an exciting yet consistent decaf option in their daily coffee routine," Colombia and Ethiopia blended for "a sweet cup featuring milk chocolate and caramel notes" with "fresh berry acidity." Mountain Water decaffeinated, the only coffee here using that process.
It runs through a drip machine without fuss, and the 5-lb bag at $100 is $1.25 an ounce, the cheapest per-ounce decaf on this page from a specialist roaster. Their sugarcane-EA Howler (Colombia, "nutty caramel, baking chocolate, and a twist of orange zest") is the same price in both sizes if you want a single origin instead of a blend.
"For those who love coffee. And sleep." Frequent's dark roast decaf: "deep chocolate richness, buttery caramel sweetness, and a subtle toasted hazelnut finish," in their words. If you take decaf with milk, or after dinner, or you simply like a dark cup, this is the one on the page built for it.
Frequent prints a resting window of 3 to 10 days off roast on the bag, which tells you they expect you to read the roast date they stamp on it. Same 5-lb option as Sidekick for an office.
A single-origin Brazil, decaffeinated by Swiss Water, from a veteran-owned family roastery in Ohio, at $1.42 an ounce. Iron Bean admits to its share of "Death before Decaf!!" jokes and made this properly anyway: "we recognize that caffeine just isn't for everyone from time to time… That doesn't mean you don't deserve the same level of care and consideration."
Their FAQ says they roast most days of the week and that "your coffee often ships the same day or the next business day." We've asked Iron Bean to confirm the schedule and haven't heard back yet, so we quote the FAQ and leave it at that.
The catch: no third-party score, no farm named beyond the country, and the one bag here we know the least about. At this price it is the one to try first if you're not sure you'll like decaf at all.
Decaf is where the roast date matters most and gets printed least. A supermarket decaf has usually sat for months. Every roaster on this page has told us, in writing, how it handles that:
Whatever you buy, read the bag when it lands. Our freshness guide explains the roast date, the best-by date and how long an opened bag keeps, in the NCA's words and the roasters'.
| Coffee | Roaster | Origin | Method | Roast | Sizes · price | Per oz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Bourbon (Wilton Benítez) | Frequent | Cauca, Colombia | Sugarcane EA | Light | 8 oz $24 | $3.00 |
| Sidekick | Frequent | Huila, Colombia | Sugarcane EA | Medium | 12 oz $23 · 5 lb $119 | $1.92 · $1.49 |
| After Dark Drip | Frequent | Huila, Colombia | Sugarcane EA | Dark | 12 oz $23 · 5 lb $119 | $1.92 · $1.49 |
| Pink Bourbon (thermal shock) | Frequent | Huila, Colombia | Sugarcane EA | Light | 8 oz $23 | $2.88 |
| Los Nogales Caturra | Frequent | Pitalito, Colombia | Mucilage EA | Very light (looks dark, their note) | 8 oz $25 | $3.13 |
| Hush-Hush Signature Blend | Dekáf | Brazil + Ethiopia | Swiss Water | Light-medium | 12 oz $21.95 · 1 lb $28.95 · 5 lb $129.95 | $1.83 · $1.81 · $1.62 |
| Whisper Espresso Blend | Dekáf | Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Guatemala | Swiss Water | Medium | 12 oz $21.95 · 1 lb $28.95 · 5 lb $129.95 | $1.83 · $1.81 · $1.62 |
| Ethiopia Sidamo Bombe | Dekáf | Sidamo, Ethiopia | Swiss Water | Light-medium | 12 oz $21.95 · 1 lb $28.95 · 5 lb $129.95 | $1.83 · $1.81 · $1.62 |
| Lil' Red | Big Bad Decaf | Guji, Ethiopia (natural) | Swiss Water | Not stated | 8 oz $26 | $3.25 |
| Three Bears Signature Blend | Big Bad Decaf | Colombia + Ethiopia | Mountain Water | Not stated | 12 oz $24 · 5 lb $100 | $2.00 · $1.25 |
| Howler | Big Bad Decaf | Huila, Colombia | Sugarcane EA | Not stated ("bold") | 12 oz $24 · 5 lb $100 | $2.00 · $1.25 |
| Dr. Knojoy's | Iron Bean | Brazil | Swiss Water | Not stated | 12 oz $16.99 · 60 oz $70 | $1.42 · $1.17 |
| Espresso Decaffeinato | Stone Street | Blend | Not stated | Medium | 5 lb $114 | $1.43 |
Origins, methods and roast levels are as each roaster lists them; "not stated" means the product page doesn't say, and we didn't guess. Prices read October 1, 2026.
Every café needs a decaf it isn't embarrassed by, and seven of these come in 5-lb bags at the roaster's bulk price, shipped by the roaster: Big Bad Decaf's Howler and Three Bears ($100), Stone Street's Espresso Decaffeinato ($114), Frequent's Sidekick and After Dark Drip ($119), and all three Dekáf coffees ($129.95, roasted to order). Iron Bean's 60-oz "5 Bagger" is $70.
For a standing order, go straight to the roaster: Frequent takes wholesale at [email protected], Big Bad Decaf at [email protected], Stone Street's wholesale desk is on our café page, and we'll introduce you to Dekáf the same day you ask. The bulk coffee page has every 5-lb bag we carry, caffeinated included.
Not zero. The FDA says decaf coffee "typically has 2 to 15 milligrams in an 8-fluid-ounce cup," against about 95 milligrams for regular coffee per the National Coffee Association, which puts the removal at "around 97%." Dekáf lists its coffees at about 0.1% caffeine by weight on the bag. We sell coffee, not medical advice; if caffeine is a medical question for you, ask your doctor. Our caffeine page quotes the agencies at length.
We have not tasted the same coffee both ways, so we won't rank the methods. Swiss Water uses water, time and temperature and no added solvent, which is why roasters call it chemical-free; the sugarcane method uses ethyl acetate derived from sugarcane, which Frequent Coffee and Big Bad Decaf describe as a natural process. The NCA says the common methods are "all equally safe and FDA compliant." The roaster and the roast date matter more than the method.
Of the five roasters here, only Dekáf says so: "small-batch roasted to order at our roastery" and "shipped within 24hrs of roast." Frequent Coffee told us they roast several times a week but are "technically not roasting to order"; Big Bad Decaf's CEO told us they roast twice a week and ship Tuesdays and Fridays. Every bag on this page comes from the roaster, not a warehouse.
Yes. Dekáf's Whisper Espresso Blend is built for it and Dekáf says it pulls "a crisp crema"; Stone Street's Espresso Decaffeinato is the 5-lb café option. Any medium-roast decaf ground fine will pull a shot; dark roasts pull easier, light single origins want a longer ratio. The espresso machine guide covers the gear.
Iron Bean's Dr. Knojoy's at $16.99 for 12 oz, a single-origin Brazil roasted in Ohio. For a café, Big Bad Decaf's Howler and Three Bears are $100 for 5 lb, about $1.25 an ounce.