The Best Decaf Coffee

So, how do you choose the most flavorful cup—hold the jitters? We set out to find the answer. We first reached out to Circana, a Chicago-based market research firm, to learn the top-selling decaf coffees in the country. We also asked coffee professionals what lesser-known decaf coffee they’re excited about. After narrowing down our list, we selected nine decaf coffees to taste with our colleagues, including Abi Reynolds, ATK staffer and co-owner and roaster of Kid Dream Coffee Company in Beverly, Massachusetts. Not all of the decaf coffee were successful.

These days heat is typically involved in the process in order to decaffeinate more effectively. “Solubility of the caffeine increases dramatically from room temperature to warm water,” said Tonya Kuhl, co-director of the Coffee Center and chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Davis. “Green seeds [also called green beans] are really dense, so to get the caffeine out you steam them or contact them with warm water that swells the seeds.” Sometimes, a chemical solvent is used in addition to water to encourage the caffeine’s migration (more on the solvents in a minute). After the decaffeinated beans are rinsed and dried, they’re ready to be roasted.

Alternate ways of decaffeinating coffee beans soon appeared, including one developed in Switzerland in the 1930s called the Swiss Water Process. It decaffeinates coffee with water alone. By soaking an initial batch of green beans, every soluble compound including caffeine dissolves into the water, creating green coffee extract. Then, caffeine is filtered out and the extract is then used with a new batch of moistened beans. The caffeine in the beans diffuse into the caffeine-free extract, while the rest of the coffee solubles, and thus flavor, remain in the beans. Though multiple companies specialize in this technology, only the Canada-based Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Inc. can use the trademarked term, and therefore any decaf coffee labeled as “Swiss Water” is first shipped to Canada and processed there before being shipped elsewhere.

Some decaffeination processes use chemical solvents, such as methylene chloride, derived from methane gas. This solvent has been linked to health hazards, but it’s not present in significant amounts in the decaffeinated coffee beans that reach the consumer, so the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has deemed this method safe and it remains in use today. 

Another popular chemical solvent is ethyl acetate. Using it is known commonly as the sugarcane process because the solvent can be derived from sugarcane. Because of Colombia’s abundant sugarcane crop and ethyl acetate processing facilities, most sugarcane-processed decaf coffee is from there. 

Ethyl acetate is considered natural because it also occurs in fruits, wine, and certain vegetables in small amounts, but it is often synthesized in facilities to produce the larger quantities needed for decaffeination. Oscar Hernández, the Colombian coffee farmer whose decaf coffee won at the U.S. Brewers Cup, utilizes the sticky, slimy flesh of the green coffee bean, which is called the mucilage. It’s typically discarded, but Hernández ferments the mucilage with ethyl acetate and soaks his beans in this solution for his unique decaffeination process. 

In the 1970s, a method called the supercritical carbon dioxide process came along. In it, carbon dioxide is converted to a supercritical fluid (with properties of both a liquid and a gas) at high pressure and combined with water, forming a solution that interacts with caffeine molecules, effectively removing them without interfering with other volatile compounds. 

Every method has its pros and cons. Swiss Water produces decaf coffee with the lowest caffeine content but often requires shipping green beans to Canada (or other certified facilities) first before sending them to the coffee roasters, which generates carbon emissions. Methylene chloride is accessible, but it’s derived from methane, a greenhouse gas. The ethyl acetate process can be done easily in Colombia, where large decaffeination facilities and production materials, such as coffee, sugarcane, and other raw goods are nearby. But it leaves a little more caffeine than the Swiss Water method. supercritical carbon dioxide does a great job of removing caffeine without chemicals, but it’s costly to run. Both the Swiss Water and supercritical carbon dioxide processes are energy- and resource-intensive. All four decaffeination methods are represented in our lineup.

Some species of coffee, such as robusta, naturally contain more caffeine than others, such as arabica. It requires more time and effort to decaffeinate robusta than arabica, which puts the beans at more risk of heat and water damage, and more importantly, could be detrimental to their flavor. This is why industry experts prefer using arabica beans; all the decaf coffees we tasted were arabica.

We also noticed the subtle, lingering sweetness and acidity from the decaf produced using the sugarcane/ethyl acetate method. The Swiss Water and supercritical carbon dioxide decaf coffees were a mixed bag; we liked some more than the others. Only the one coffee made with the methylene chloride-processed decaf was unpleasantly bitter and “too roasted.” 

However, the decaffeination method doesn’t solely determine the quality of the coffee. We found the differences in the roast level, the roasting technique, and the variety of the beans also shaped the flavor, aroma, and mouthfeel of the coffees. 

Two Colombian single-origin coffees stood out as our favorites. Counter Culture Coffee’s Decaf Urcunina, which was processed with ethyl acetate, had a smooth mouthfeel and hints of sweet and warm spices. Its “banana bread” and “mango” notes delighted our taste buds. Black & White Coffee Roasters Sugarcane Decaf was a stunner too. It’s also an ethyl acetate–processed coffee with a similarly vibrant, candy-like flavor profile but was a touch more molasses-y and chocolaty. For a deeply roasty aroma and full-bodied coffee, we liked Peet’s Coffee Decaf Big Bang Medium Roast Coffee, which was decaffeinated using the Swiss Water process. We invite you to read about each coffee we tasted in the chart below, where they are listed in order of preference. 

Editor’s Note, February 2026: We learned that Counter Culture Coffee Decaf Urcunina is temporarily out of stock due to supply chain issues. A representative from the company told us that it will be available for purchase by the end of the year.