Beans · Updated 2026-08-17
Decaf doesn't have to be sad, flat coffee. We cupped 8 decaf beans and blends across price points — three are genuinely worth buying, and one is so good you'd choose it blind.
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| Award | Model | Rating | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Daily Driver | Lavazza Super Crema | 4.5/5 | £18.50 / 1kg | Everyday espresso, especially for super-automatic and entry machines. |
| Best Subscription | Pact Coffee | 4.6/5 | From £7 / 250g | Discovery: trying new UK roasters and origins without commitment. |
Best Daily Driver
Lavazza Super CremaSweet, chocolatey and forgiving in any machine — the decaf version delivers the same reliability.
Best Subscription
Pact CoffeeFresh-roasted speciality decaf from top UK roasters, matched to your taste.
Sweet, chocolatey crema and forgiving extraction in any machine. The most-searched espresso bean in the world — and genuinely the best daily-driver value we've tested.
Why it's great
Flaws, but not dealbreakers
Single-origin speciality coffee delivered within days of roasting. The best UK coffee subscription — fresh-roasted speciality beans from top UK roasters, matched to your taste.
Why it's great
Flaws, but not dealbreakers
Most decaf is processed with CO₂ or water (Swiss Water Process) to remove caffeine while preserving flavour. Avoid chemical-solvent methods (methylene chloride) if you're health-conscious — they leave trace residues.
Slightly. Decaf loses some volatile aromatics during processing, so it tastes a little flatter than regular coffee. The best decafs are roasted darker to compensate, which is why most supermarket decaf is dark roast.
UK law allows up to 0.1% caffeine by weight — roughly 2-3 mg per cup vs 95 mg in regular. Most people can't detect the difference, but those sensitive to caffeine should still avoid it entirely.
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