The 11 best decaf coffees you can buy in 2022: Including Nespresso compatible pods, ground coffee and instant | The Sun

2022-07-04

THERE'S no doubt that caffeine is one of our greatest vices. In fact, 98 million cups of the the world's most popular drink is consumed every single day in just the UK alone.

A steaming cup o' Joe can help with concentration, give you an energy boost and some reports even state it can help you live longer – but for health and wellness, it's important to mix it up with some of the best decaf coffee around, too.

Drinking too much coffee (usually over four cups a day) can trigger overstimulation, anxiety and other symptoms like headaches and nausea – so it's key to keep track of what you're drinking… Especially since caffeine can appear in regular tea, too!

Decaffeinated coffee has come on in leaps and bounds in the last few years, meaning that you can cut your caffeine intake without sacrificing on the taste or aroma of your favourite coffee.

Whether you're giving up the ghost and cutting out caffeine completely for your overall mental and physical health (please visit your healthcare provider first for advice), or want to incorporate tasty, affordable decaf coffee into your routine – we've got you covered.

Pretty much every well-loved coffee brand now boasts its own decaffeinated substitute in the form of Nespresso compatible pods, whole beans, ground coffee, or instant granules.

We've done all the hard work for you by taste testing (hard job, we know) a range of the best decaf coffee on the market right now. So pop the kettle on, put your feet up, and prepare to make some space in the cupboards.

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Lost Sheep Coffee

Lost Sheep Coffee, Fifty Fifty Coffee Pods, £3.45 from Tesco – buy here

Back in 2011, Kent-based Lost Sheep Coffee founders Stu and Sarah decided to quit their day jobs to go backpacking around Australia – where they discovered Aussie-style coffee, and thus Lost Sheep Coffee was born.

The coffee brand hand roasts speciality coffee from all over the world, sourcing direct from family farms – meaning all of its beans are fully traceable, and that the company can pay farmers four times more than standard.

We tried Lost Sheep's compostable capsules that are suitable for all Nespresso machines in both Loving The Decaf and Fifty Fifty – its unique half caffeine compostable capsules.

We loved them both – finding that the Fifty Fity worked best as a morning pick-me-up (it's suitable for a 'Lungo' – long – style coffee with milk, too) and its decaf alternative was great for an afternoon espresso.

Both flavours were bold, with the decaf pods boasting a unique cocoa powder sweetness – you get 10 in each pack, and prices start from under £3.50 at Tesco.

The packaging is fully recyclable and we popped our pods in our food waste bin after use. Lost Sheep also does a range of decaf beans on its site, too – including its Fifty Fifty range. You'd be baa-king to miss out.

Hundred House

Colombia Decaf, £6.75 from Hundred House Coffee – buy here

We love a coffee brand with a conscience, and Hundred House Coffee does just that. The Shropshire-based coffee company provides self-confessed 'coffee with character' through its work supporting the arts through industry.

The coffee company works with artists, designers, musicians and writers on a range of non-profit education programmes and projects – partnering with public art galleries to create spaces that invite social dialogue, coupled with a great cup of coffee.

In this case, its decaf ground coffee is spectacular. It's fully traceable to Colombia and is entirely naturally decaffeinated.

Once we opened the bag for our morning cup, we were hit with heavy notes of soothing milk chocolate, earthy walnuts and a slight tinge of honey – reflecting in taste, too, accompanied by wintry red fruits.

It's a delightfully well-rounded cup, and we enjoyed it with both a V60 drip filter and Aeropress, accompanied by oat milk. It's no wonder it won a Great Taste Award in 2021, too.

Neighbourhood Coffee Roasters

(I Can't Get No) Caffeination, from £7.50 at Neighbourhood Coffee Roasters – buy here

Name a better duo than coffee and music. We'll wait.

Neighbourhood Coffee Roasters is Liverpool's first speciality roastery, and it has combined the city's love of music and caffeine to create a beautiful Colombian decaf – making them our best decaf coffee beans.

Grown by smallholders and naturally decaffeinated, (I Can't Get No) Caffeination won a Great Taste Award in 2020 for its sumptuous dark treacle, red fruits and sweet chocolately notes – making for a wonderful morning cuppa.

Once we ground our beans at home, we paired our ground coffee with oat milk after making it in a V60 drip filter, but you can select your coffee to be sent to you according to your brewing method – including Chemex, Aeropress, Cafetiere, Filter, Espresso or more.

Prices start from a mere £7.50 and you can choose the option to tap into a subscription too. We were so surprised by the taste that we had to double check it was decaf. The packaging is fully recyclable too, just peel off the front label. Rock on.

Nespresso

Nespresso Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio Decaffeinato, £29.94 for 50 from Amazon – buy here

Anyone with a penchant for coffee will have heard of Nespresso – the coffee pod giant who has arguably paved the way for the wide range of high-tech coffee machines most of us have the pleasure of owning.

An addition to Nespresso's humongous ranges of coffee capsules is one of three decaf options – the super creamy, intense Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio Decaffeinato.

With a strength scoring of nine, this is for the former caffeine addicts who don't want to miss out on that lip-puckering intensity of full-fat caffeine.

Nestled in a decadent purple pod, and priced at around 41p per pod, this offering was ideal for a ristretto or espresso – fiting snugly into our Nespresso machine.

We paired it with a splash of oat milk, but our husband who takes it black found it full-bodied and creamy, with a hefty serving of bittersweet dark chocolate.

One you're finished with your 80% recycled aluminium pods, chuck the packaging in the recycling and dispose of your pods with Nespresso's free Capsule Recycling Bag.

illy

illy Instant Coffee DECAFFEINATO flavour, £34.92 for six from Amazon – buy here

You didn't think we'd forget about the best decaf instant coffee did you?! Italian coffee company illy is a certified B Corp and one of the biggest well-known coffee brands on our round-up.

Its decaf Instant Coffee offering is no different from its high-quality range of Italian-style coffee, and we found it a great, quick and fuss-free everyday coffee to fit in around work when we didn't have time for a speciality coffee.

Nestled in a sealed, keep-fresh tin, simply spoon two teaspoons of illy Instant Coffee into your favourite cup, and top with 180ml of water that has been off the boil for a few minutes. Stir and savour (adding milk, dairy-free alternatives, suagr or sweetener if you prefer).

The caffeine content is less than 0.1% but it is 100% arabica, sourced from beans roasted in Italy for a well-rounded fruity flavour and comibined with micro-ground coffee.

It's not the tastiest coffee around, but it's extremely convenient and ideal for chucking in your bag for trips to the office. Plus, with this offering from Amazon you can stock up and save on its 95g tubs – ideal for if you're going through a few cups a day.

Caravan

Decaf Coffee Pods, from £14.25 at Caravan Coffee Roasters – buy here

London-born Caravan Coffee Roasters are purveyors of fine, speciality coffee (and brunch, if you ever have the pleasure of visiting its restaurants).

The brand celebrates female coffee producers and is a 1% for the planet company, and its best decaf coffee pods are both compostable in your at-home food waste bin and Nespresso machine compatible.

Caravan advises using one pod for a short coffee, like a ristretto or espresso, and two pods for a long coffee – which we preferred, pairing it with oat milk in the mornings.

All of its decaf coffee beans are processed naturally in Colombia using by-products from sugarcane production and we found that it added a uniquely tropical, almost fruity nature to our cuppa.

For under £15, or by signing up to a subscription, you can get three 10-packs – 10 shorts or five long cuppas – and with tasting notes of sugar sweet brownie, maple syrup and poached pear, what's not to love?

Extract

Half Speed Low-Caffeine Espresso, £8.95 from Extract – buy here

Bristol is not only home to an amazing music, arts and cultural scene, but is the birthplace of Extract – our favourite new coffee roasters.

The trendy hotspot boasts speciaility roasters Extract amongst its coffee books, and the ethically-sourced company needs to be on your get-to-know list pronto.

Extract is determined to make coffee better; for its drinkers, baristas, roasters and farmers – sourcing only the best coffee, and hand roasting it in its restored vintage coffee roasting equipment.

We tried its low-caffeine beans, Half Speed, made of 50% sugarcane decaf, 30% washed and 20% natural coffee beans – voted our best decaf coffee beans for espresso. The Colombian coffee boasts notes of nectarine, pistachios and buttery almonds.

Once ground, we were hit with an intoxicating waft of milk chocolate and bitter cherries. Absolute bliss.

We brewed it with a V60 drip filter, and paired with oat milk for a creamy morning cuppa when we wanted a nutty, chocolately coffee hit – without the shakes or anxiety that comes with a full-fat cup. Extract has perfected it.

Presto

Presto Coffee Beans, £21.99 for 1kg from Amazon – buy here

If you're a coffee aficionado that gets through beans fast, look past small packs and pouches and opt for this great value 1kg bag of beans from Presto instead.

With earthy, nutty notes of almonds and peanuts, as well as sweet cocoa, we found a cup of Presto to be silky smooth and extremely comforting – with a unique floral finish.

Once ground, Presto advises that its 100% arabica decaf beans are best prepared in a V60 (which we used and found that it worked perfectly to make a lungo, with oat milk), chemex or cafetiere.

We reckon this 1kg bag, available from Amazon for £21.99 will make around 60 cups of coffee – enough to see you have two a day for a month. Score.

Its packaging is fully recyclable, too, (which we love) but it's best to check with your local council if they accept LDPE first, if not – chuck it in your local supermarket's carrier bag recycling points.

Exhale Coffee

Organic Chemical-Free Decaf Coffee, £9.50 from Exhale – buy here

Looking for coffee with a conscience? Or beans that taste good, as well as do good for both you and the planet? Look no further. Our favourite is London-based coffee company Exhale, who make self-proclaimed 'ridiculously healthy coffee'.

Founder Alex discovered that his health was deteriorating by his thirties and though he was fit, he wrongly assumed he was healthy – soon finding himself in bad mental and physical health.

A lover of coffee, he stumbled upon single origin coffee in Thailand after a pretty nasty surfing accident and began to dedicate his life and work to bringing healthy, sustainable and tasty brews to coffee lovers.

The small business aims to improve health and wellbeing with the healthiest and fairest coffee imaginable – and its organic decaf is no exception. It is sourced and roasted to be naturally high in antioxidants, with a totally chemical-free decaf process.

According to the pros at Exhale, one cup of Exhale coffee has the same antioxidant power as 12 punnets of blueberries, 55 oranges or 1.2kg of kale – meaning that your daily cup of coffee can actually help you to live better, without sacrificing on taste.

Its coffee is free from mycotoxins, mould and pesticides, too, and we think it tastes bloody good. Instead of a caffeeine buzz, we felt fresher, lighter and clearer-headed after just a few days of drinking it each morning and afternoon.

We loved knowing that 2% of revenue went to the preotection and restoration of the natural environment, too.

Plus, with endorsements from NHS medical doctor Dr Rupy Aujla, entirely plastic-free packging and a B Corp Certification pending, you can't argue with that.

CRU Kafe

CRU Kafe Organic Decaf Coffee Capsules, £21.95 for six from Amazon – buy here

With a list of climate and sustainability pledges longer than your morning coffee, CRU Kafe is a trusted coffee brand recognised by the Soil Association as organic and is Fairtrade certified.

Its organic decaf option includes Nespresso compatible coffee pods that are fully recyclable – just scrape out the ground coffee and rinse them out, before popping in your recycling bin with the paper packaging.

The strength is a seven, meaning it's a deep, well-rounded roast – perfect for your morning brew, and makes a sumptuous espresso in under 20 seconds. Bliss. It's no wonder the Peruvian single origin blend won a Great Taste Award for 2020, too.

On Amazon, you can stock up on your new favourite coffee pods and grab six packs of 10 for around £20.

CRU Kafe has also tried its hand at the new trend taking the coffee world by storm: coffee bags – and of course, has cracked its recipe for some of the best decaffeinated ground coffee around, too.

Pact Coffee

Decaf Buenos Aires, £9.95 from Pact – buy here

Pact's Decaf Buenos Aires is one of two tasty decaf options from the ethical coffee company and subcription service.

Pact has pledged to bring sustainably and ethically sourced coffee to the UK and its millions of daily drinkers, while making life better at its source – making a pact to help make the coffee industry fairer.

Born in 2012, Pact has relationships directly with its coffee farmers – cutting out a number of middle men, and diverting fair wages to the beans at the source.

Pact claims that its Buenos Aires decaf option is all dark chocolate and raisins, with a well-balanced citrus acidity and a soft, sweet finish – ideal for an espresso, or for pairing with milk and dairy-free alternatives.

One 250g bag of the medium-dark decaf roast, which you can sign up to arriving every four weeks, is enough for around 15 cups of coffee and Pact can grind the beans according to your favourite brewing method.

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