How does this community feel about decaf? And are there any really good decaf options at your local roaster or roaster of choice? I’m personally a big fan of decaf for a dessert latte in the evening. Unfortunately I’m still trying to find a really good decaf bean, but this one is good for a really dark roast, which is my preference for espresso.
I like Hoffmann’s stance on decaf personally. His thought is the “death before decaf” folks aren’t really into coffee as much, because they’re admitting they’re just into it for the caffeine, and those who drink decaf are willing to drink often times bad coffee (since most places don’t treat decaf with the same respect as regular) just to have a cup of coffee since they love it so much.
Fresh Roasted Coffee makes several tasty decaf and half-caf varieties. There's a decaf dark Sumatra variety that I've made many a late night espresso out of with great results. It comes and goes, though.
I've tried several of the lighter decafs since I have a friend who's all but allergic to caffeine, but he loves coffee; and of those, the Ethiopia is my favorite.
If you don't mind shelling out, there's a variety pack with 12 samples of various decafs here
That's the store I've been buying from the last year or two. The one i liked best is called Black Knight, but I've tried a few of their others and they're all much better than what i can get locally.