Sometimes you’d love a cup of coffee but don’t want caffeine. To that end, decaffeinated coffee is a wonderful option that allows you to have the flavor and experience of a cup of coffee without getting wound up. 

Some people mistakenly believe decaffeinated coffee still retains a large amount of caffeine. That is a myth. While some caffeine is maintained within the beans, a cup of decaf coffee has about 10 percent of the caffeine of a standard cup of coffee, which is less than the amount of caffeine in an ounce of dark chocolate, or half a can of cola. It’s hard to give an exact amount of the amount of caffeine in a cup of decaf due to variables in roasting and brewing. Each individual roaster would have to have their finished project assessed for its chemical content to give a specific number, so it’s more helpful to look at decaf beans in aggregate. 

Actual green coffee itself is 99.9 percent caffeine free after it is decaffeinated. The 0.1 percent of caffeine remaining in the beans makes its way into the final brewed coffee as 3-15 mg of caffeine per 6 oz cup. Compared with about 100 mg per average serving in conventional coffee, that amount is miniscule. As a reference point, a Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate bar has 20 mg of caffeine and a can of Diet Coke has 40 mg. Your decaf coffee has about as much caffeine as a packet of instant hot chocolate. 

At Dawson Taylor Coffee Roasters, we solely use Swiss Water Decaf processed decaf coffees. While some decaffeinated coffee is made by using harsh chemicals, such as methylene chloride, to remove caffeine, Swiss Water Decaf processed coffees essentially use osmosis to extract caffeine from green beans. This eliminates any contact with known carcinogens, and preserves the maximum amount of flavor in the treated beans. 

Your decaf coffee will lose freshness faster than conventional beans, just due to the increased processing. That means you should be especially careful when you store it and protect it from light, heat, moisture, and air. Grinding it fresh rather than pre-grinding it is also preferred. 

If you treat your beans well, you should be able to find a cup of decaf that matches conventional brew for quality. Dawson Taylor offers a range of decaffeinated coffee, including organic options, and there’s a flavor profile for everyone. We’re especially excited about our Decaf Guatemala Alma, which soft notes of cocoa and apple and reminds us of a malty bowl of brown sugar oatmeal.