3 HN users recommended this explainer2 months2024–2025score 2.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN commenters recommend it as a well-researched overview of decaf processes and quality, and cite it for the claim that decaf stales faster.
James Hoffmann explains how decaf coffee is made, how the decaffeination processes differ, and why decaf is roasted and stales differently. He also discusses decaf quality and health questions.
“his video about decaf sold me on the idea” (HN, 2025)
I went to the US recently and was fully prepared to drink caffeine on the trip because of all the cool coffee shops and roasters. But I was amazed that decaf was basically a first-class citizen there. The hotel breakfast had one giant brewer for regular and the same giant brewer for decaf. It was amazing. And it’s pretty important to realize that well-made decaf doesn’t have to taste worse than regular coffee. James Hoffmanns decaf project proved this for me, and his video about decaf sold me on the idea: decaf drinkers are the OG coffee drinker, drinking it purely for the taste, even without the drug-induced high that caffeine gives you. [this video]
Convinced commenter that decaf drinkers love coffee for taste
James Hoffmann did a video on decaff coffee recently[1]. In it he basically says the "scary chemicals" aspect of other caffeine removal processes is basically overblown, and the reason why decaf coffee sucks has less to do with the solvents used and more to do with how the decaffination process makes the beans more prone to staling. In short, there's nothing really special about the swiss water process in particular and there are more important factors to worry about. [1] [this video]
Hoffmann explains decaf processes and why decaf stales faster
> Decaf can taste very good. I've certainly had decaf that was better than most caffeinated coffee I've had. But it's harder to find serious attempts at decaf roasts, sadly. James Hoffmann made a great video about this recently: [this video]
That's one way of making it, but it's by no means the only way. Also, the reason why it tastes bad isn't because it's "same chemicals used to do dry cleaning", it's that the decaffination process changes the physical structure of the beans, making it easier to stale. source for both claims: [this video] , [link]
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