For years I’ve refused to drink decaffeinated coffee.

It has just never made sense to me why people would want to drink coffee without caffeine in it, why bother?  The ad on the right pretty much summed up my sentiments. You drink coffee for the taste and the immediate energy boost.  In my early twenties and thirties I could easily down a 4 shot latte an hour before bed and without any problem I would sleep like a baby all night long. However, as I slowly approached the dreaded age of 40, I started to loose my caffeine edge and I begin to experience some long sleepless nights after downing the caffeine dose I was accustomed to drinking without consequence. But still I refused to drink decaf for fear of compromising the great taste of caffeinated coffee! DECAF COFFEE — No Way!

I must admit, however reluctantly, that the pain of not sleeping all night became too great and I was forced to experiment with decaf coffees. At the time, I had owned and operated Durango Joe’s Coffee for 2 years, so I’m little embarrassed to say that I was just then diving into the quality of decaf coffees.  But, what I found was great news! It actually tasted GOOD! Who would have thought?  I could experience the same wonderful flavor and taste I had come to love and enjoy drinking my favorite caffeinated coffee in select decaf blends. Here is what I found out about decaf coffee:

How is coffee decaffeinated?

Coffee is decaffeinated in it’s unroasted or green state. Currently two processes dominate the specialty coffee industry, The Swiss Water Process and the European process.

In layman’s terms, the “Swiss Water Process” (copyrighted name of course) involves soaking the beans in hot water until they’ve given up everything but the woody structure, running the waters through charcoal filters to remove the caffeine, then recombining the beans and the water. The beans soak up the good stuff from the water again, leaving the caffeine behind in the filters. This is the greenest option while also allowing the beans to maintain as much flavor as possible. (For more depth on this process visit, coffeereview.com)

The European process involves the use of a solvent (methylene chloride, usually) which combines with the caffeine. The caffeine is simply removed and the rest of the beans flavor characteristics are  left intact instead of having the majority taken out and then put back in, as in the Swiss Water Process.

We have always and continue to carry Swiss Water Processed Decaf as I believe it is the best choice for our customer’s and environment’s well-being.

How to select decaffeinated coffee:

When buying decaffeinated coffees, pay attention to roast levels.  Decaffeinated coffees are typically tricky to roast as they respond inconsistently to heat. Avoid decaffeinated coffees that look extremely dark and oily, particularly if the store you are buying them from doesn’t usually present it’s coffees that way. In other words, decaffeinated coffee is easy to over roast, and you’ll be tasting more of the “over-roasting” than the coffee’s flavors  if you aren’t careful.

A great alternative,  if you are looking for ways to reduce your caffeine intake without giving up coffee or sacrificing taste is to drink half or quarter-caff. coffees. At home, experiment with blending regular coffees naturally low in caffeine with a decaffeinated coffee to create your own favorite low-caffeine coffee. Coffees that have a higher roast level contain the least amount of caffeine. Try mixing one part of a distinctive, full-bodied regular arabica coffee such as our Tanzanian or Guatemalan with two parts of a mild decaffeinated coffee such as Costa Rican or Colombian. The resulting blend will have 80- 85% less caffeine per cup! Our Decaf Espresso and Rio Azul Guatemalan makes an excellent pairing!

Or if you’re on the go,  come into any one of our 7 Durango Joe’s coffee shops and ask for a half-caff. coffee, you’ll get the same great taste without the jolt!

My current favorite: A double decaf espresso shot over ice with a 

splash of cream.