It's 8 pm on a sticky evening in May. The fan is pushing warm air around, dinner is done, and what you really want is a tall glass of iced coffee. But you also want to be asleep by eleven. So do you skip it, or make a decaf one?
New to decaf? Our short guide on what decaf coffee is explains how the caffeine comes out.
Why cold brew suits decaf
To take the caffeine out, green coffee beans are steamed and soaked before they're roasted. This leaves the bean more porous, a bit like a sponge. That has two effects in your cup:
Decaf gives up its flavour faster. With hot water, it's easy to pull out too much and end up with a bitter cup.
Cold water is gentle. It pulls flavour out slowly over many hours, and leaves behind much of the sharp acidity and bitterness.
Our Decaffeinated Toasted Almond is a 100% arabica natural from Hoysala Estate in Chikmagalur, roasted medium dark and decaffeinated with supercritical CO2. Laboratory tests show a 99.95% reduction in caffeine. In cold brew, its notes of green apple, caramel and toasted nuts come through clearly.
How to make decaf cold brew
It's the recipe we use for our regular coffees too, from our guide to the best coffee for moka pot, French press and cold brew.
You'll need: 100 g Decaf Toasted Almond as Whole Bean, 1 litre cold filtered water, a large jar, a sieve and a cloth or paper filter.
Grind coarse, like coarse sea salt. Grind just before you brew, because a porous decaf bean goes stale quickly once ground.
Mix. Put the coffee in the jar, pour in the water (1 part coffee to 10 parts water) and stir until all the coffee is wet.
Steep in the fridge for 18 hours. Start it after dinner and it'll be ready by the next afternoon.
Strain twice. First through a sieve, then through a cloth or paper filter to catch the fine bits.
Bottle it in a clean, sealed bottle and keep it in the fridge.
Why whole beans? Our Powder is a medium grind, made for pour-over and drip. Cold brew wants coarse.
How to serve it
At 1:10, what you've made is a strong concentrate, so don't drink it neat from the bottle. Taste a sip first, then pick one:
Black over ice. Fill a glass with ice, add 100 ml cold brew and 100 ml cold water. Add more water if it's still too strong.
With milk. Fill a glass with ice, add 100 ml cold brew and 100 to 150 ml cold full cream milk. Full cream milk gives the creamy, rounded taste that suits the nutty notes.
As a concentrate. Keep it strong for a small, intense glass.
If you like it sweet, use a sugar syrup, since sugar won't dissolve well in cold coffee.
Cold coffee, finished with a cream top. A decaf cold brew works the same way.
Can't wait 18 hours? Make a quick decaf iced coffee
Some evenings you decide at 8 pm, not the night before. Then brew hot coffee straight onto ice. The ice cools it instantly and counts as part of the water, so you pour less hot water and the drink isn't watery.
Iced pour-over, one glass (Decaf Toasted Almond as Powder works well here):
Put 100 g ice in your jug or glass and set the dripper on top.
Add 15 g decaf coffee to the filter.
Pour 150 ml water just off the boil, slowly, in a few rounds.
When it has dripped through, swirl and pour over fresh ice.
With a French press: brew 15 g of coarsely ground decaf with 120 ml hot water for 4 minutes, press, and pour straight over a glass full of ice. Add cold milk if you like.
Hot-brewed iced coffee tastes brighter and lighter. Cold brew is smoother and rounder.
How long decaf cold brew keeps
We drink our cold brew within about a week. A few tips keep it tasting its best:
Store it undiluted. Add water, milk or ice only to the glass you're about to drink.
Use a sealed bottle and keep it at the back of the fridge, not in the door, where it's warmer.
Taste before you pour. The flavour fades a little each day. If it tastes sour or flat, pour it out and make a fresh batch.
Common questions
Is decaf cold brew completely caffeine free?
Not completely, as no decaf is. But our Decaffeinated Toasted Almond has had 99.95% of its caffeine removed in laboratory tests, so a glass of its cold brew has very little.
Can I use decaf powder for cold brew?
You can, but it will steep faster and the cup can turn muddy. For cold brew we recommend Whole Bean, ground coarse just before brewing. Keep the Powder for an iced pour-over.
What ratio should I use for decaf cold brew?
We use 1 part coffee to 10 parts cold water, steeped for 18 hours in the fridge. That makes a concentrate, so dilute it about half and half with water or milk.
