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.
I'm annoyingly sensitive to caffeine (any caffeine intake after midday means I won't be sleeping until 3am). So I took part in James Hoffman's big decaf taste test a few years ago and you'd be surprised how different decaffeination methods tasted! I'll have to dig out my notes but there was one I remember that made the coffee taste like soil.
Try to do your own comparison if you can, but decaf doesn't have to be bad.
Oh, I saw that video not too long ago :)