It's no secret that we love a cup of coffee, with an estimated 95-98 million cups drunk in a single day across the UK, according to the British Coffee Association.

But not everyone wants that caffeine hit and wanting to cut down on caffeine comes in many guises, from improving sleep to reducing anxiety or bladder or digestive irritations.

And as we age, it's harder for our bodies to process caffeine, so forget those black coffees at the end of a dinner and being kept awake for hours.

Luckily, the world of decaf coffee has come a long, long way recently. No longer is it only made up of terrible instant granules that taste more like coffee-flavoured sweets than actual coffee. Heck, even instant decaf coffee has improved drastically too. So good are some, that for many of these excellent brews from some of our favourite coffee specialists, you wouldn't know it was decaf.

But how are coffee beans decaffeinated? It's usually done through two processes, one is with chemicals and the other is chemical free.

Decafination happens when the beans are still green and haven't been roasted and the most common chemical free method is the "sugarcane process" (also known as the EA or Natural Ethyl Acetate process). The natural decaffeination method uses fermented sugarcane molasses and water to draw the caffeine out, and removes almost all of the caffeine – between 97-99 per cent – while retaining the characteristics of the beans. Most beans are decaffeinated in Europe or Canada, and not at source, but some coffee brands are beginning to decaffeinate at source, reducing air miles.

As decaf coffee isn't quite as popular as its caffeinated sibling, most decaf coffees tend to lean towards the medium roast, chocolate and nut flavour profiles, rather than the funkier, brighter or fruitier coffees. Many are from Colombia too, but not all coffees are born equal as there's still plenty of variety within them too.

Read more: **Best travel mugs and reusable coffee cups **

The best decaf coffees for 2026 are:

  • Best overall– Redemption Sembradores decaf coffee: £13.50, Redemptionroasters.com
  • Best budget buy– Pact casa loma decaf coffee: £10.95, Pactcoffee.com
  • Best from women-founded business– Dear Green decaf de cana decaf coffee: £13.70, Deargreencoffee.com
  • Best Colombian– Hermanos El Condor decaf coffee: £15, Hermanoscoffeeroasters.com
  • Best instant– Clipper decaf organic instant: £7.60, Ocado.com

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  • Bestdecaf coffee overall
  • Why we love it- Excellent flavour
  • Social enterprise company

Whichever coffee I try from Redemeption, I'm always impressed at just how good it is, despite already having high hopes for it as I've been a fan for years.

Sembradores decaf is sourced from the Cajibio in Colombia, and it's one for decaf coffee drinkers that might want a bit more zestiness in their coffee. It's smooth, but complex and has a little touch of apricot in there that gives it a syrupy fruitiness and is less bold and chocolatey than some of the others in the list. Though there are still chocolatey notes in there, this is a great one for anyone who usually likes a slightly fruitier coffee, without being too funky.

Redemption is far more than just producing quality coffee and its coffee shops, though. It's a social enterprise company and helps train prisoners and prison leavers helping them to gain jobs in hospitality, which customers are helping to fund by buying from the brand.

Key specifications

  • Weight:250g

  • Subscription: Yes

  • Bestbudget decaf coffee

  • Why we love it- Affordable
  • Great taste

  • Names producer

  • Take note- Bag seems bigger than it needs to be

At a snip under £11 (or less than a tenner if you subscribe) this is excellent value coffee, and was my second favourite taste wise, too.

Run by Stephen Rapoport, his aim with Pact is to improve the coffee industry not only by trading directly with producers, but also using a climate-resistant variety of Arabica beans, Cenicafé 1.

This coffee has a fantastic flavour, which is quite light and has notes of sticky raisins that gives it a sweet finish too. Sourced from Colombia, grown by Ramiro Suarez as it notes on the label, it's a medium roast and is a really interesting coffee that's quite bright too.

Key specifications

  • Weight:250g

  • Subscription:Yes

  • Bestdecaf from women-founded business

  • Why we love it- Ethically sourced coffee

  • Great tasting

  • Take note- Bag looks paper, but is plastic lined

Based in Glasgow, the brand takes its name from the city's nickname, 'the dear green place' owing to its vast amount of green spaces

Founded by Lisa Lawson, who came back to the city from Australia and couldn't find the sort of coffee she wanted, so she set up the brand. She even went one step further, and went on to set up Glasgow's Coffee Festival which has been running for 12 years.

The decaf coffee is from Colombia's Huila region and has been decaffeinated using the sugarcane/ EA process. Drinking it, there's notes of prunes, a little caramel and a touch of orange citrus with a slightly sweet finish.

Spent coffee grounds are diverted from landfill, local deliveries are sent via bike, hessian coffee bean bags are sold on for a pound raising money for charities. The brand also runs classes, experiences and training at its roastery site.

Key specification

  • Weight:250g

  • Subscription:Yes

  • BestColombian decaf coffee

  • Why we love it- Excellent flavour

  • Colombian experts

  • Take note- More expensive than most

Colombia coffee specialists Hermanos, which you might recognise from one of its 10 cafes around London, was set up by brothers Victor, Santiago and Adnan Gamboa who know a thing or two about excellent Colombian coffee, and are also Colombian themselves. The brand was the winner in my 'best coffee subscription services' piece as its Siberia coffee is still the best I've ever tasted.

Hermanos' decaf coffee, El Condor, is of course a classic Colombian coffee, sourced from one of the oldest single estates in the central Colombian region of Tolima. Every coffee the brand sells has been directly traded, and the brothers regularly visit farms.

It has notes of red fruity berries, a hint of plums, deep intense rounded flavours of chocolate and nuts and really is packed with as much flavour as it sounds, making it a real crowd-pleaser.

Key specifications

  • Weight:250g

  • Subscription:Yes

  • Bestdecaf coffee produced by women

  • Why we love it- Produced by women
  • Excellent taste
  • Fab branding

Waving the flag not only for decaf coffee, but also decaf made by women which is a niche market, is Girls Who Grind. All the coffees from the brand are grown by women, and Girls Who Grind have been working with this organisation for five years.

Dreamy coffee is from Mexico and the producers named the coffee "vayichi" in their traditional Mayan language, which translates as "to dream", which the brand says reflects the dream the women had for themselves with their coffee production of better futures.

Flavour-wise, it's full of intense notes of plum and apple and has great acidity that really lifts it up, making it quite bright and a great cup for afternoons.

Key specifications

  • Weight:250g

  • Subscription:Yes

  • Bestdelicate decaf coffee

  • Why we love it- Delicate
  • Produced by women
  • Very transparent

  • Decaffeinated at source

  • Take note- Might be too delicate for some

Based in Cornwall, Origin is one of the long-standing names in independent coffee roasters with shops across Edinburgh, London, Bristol and Cornwall.

It has coffee from some of the most interesting and exciting destinations, such as Thailand and Taiwan with limited edition coffees, changing the perceptions of where coffee can be sourced from. Some are even shipped by sail, which drastically reduces the carbon footprint of the coffee.

The atlas decaf coffee has been produced by a women's group who Origin has been working with since 2022, though it's worked with some producers for a decade, prioritising long-term relationships. This was one of the most delicate coffees I tested, proving that not all decafs need to be big and bold. It also has very well rounded chocolate notes with decent acidity.

Atlas has been decaffeinated using an all-natural Sugarcane process, which all takes place in Colombia where the coffee is sourced from. This is unusual as often coffee is decaffeinated in a different destination to where it's harvested, increasing the carbon footprint.

Key specifications

  • Weight:250g

  • Subscription:Yes

  • Bestdark roast decaf coffee

  • Why we love it- Great complex flavour

  • Supports 1% for Planet charity

  • Take note- Dark roast could be too much for some

This smiley little red mug branding isn't the only thing about Hard Lines that makes it memorable, it's the very good coffee too. Hard Lines is one of Wales' standout independent coffee producers and has created a decaf coffee that stands up to the rest of its range.

Hailing from Brazil this coffee has been EA washed to decaffeinate it, and as Hard Lines says, this coffee has "all the best bits without the buzz". The coffee has a very intense aroma to it owing to the dark roast, which gives it plenty of the classic chocolate and hazelnut flavours, but it's very complex yet balanced, so don't think it's a thick and heavy coffee like some can be.

Key specifications

  • Weight:250g

  • Subscription:Yes

  • Bestagroforestry grown decaf coffee

  • Why we love it- Paper coffee bags easy to recycle
  • Grown following agroforestry methods

  • Supports 1% for the Planet

  • Take note- Non-resealable bags

If you've spent much time in Cornwall, you'll be familiar with Yallah's single-origin coffee which not only has its own coffee shops, but is used in many other cafes and restaurants in the county and beyond.

The house decaf is sourced from 65 communities in Mexico, where it's been grown between 1,200m-1,800m above sea level following agroforestry growing methods, meaning the coffee bushes are grown alongside other trees and plants, creating a biodiverse growing system. The decaffeination process is done in Colombia and uses steam only, reducing water waste.

There's some hints of malty biscuity notes, a little earthiness that's not too intense, as well as some fruitiness and low acidity. Overall, it's very balanced and delicious.

Yallah has new branding for this year which really makes it stand out from its peers, as does its choice to ship some of its coffees where possible by sail, which reduces the carbon footprint of the coffee.

Key specifications

  • Weight:250g

  • Subscription:Yes

  • Bestblended decaf coffee

  • Why we love it- Good flavour

  • Take note- Very low acidity might not be for everyone

AllPress is originally from New Zealand where it began life way back in 1989, and you might recognise it as it has a handful of coffee shops across Manchester and London.

Made from a blend of Brazilian, Colombian and Guatemalan beans which are roasted as a medium to dark roast, this still produces a fun coffee that's not too heavy as there's still some citrus notes in there layered underneath sticky caramel, milk chocolate and dried fruits. It's very low in acidity so it's not the brightest coffee.

Key specifications

  • Weight:250g

  • Subscription:Yes

  • Bestcarbon neutral coffee

  • Why we love it- Certified organic
  • From Peru

  • Great flavour

  • Take note- Could be too delicate for some

This coffee smelt amazing before I even opened the bag. Much lighter than some other coffees on the list, this is quite delicate, slightly sweet with notes of citrus, apple, dark chocolate and toffee.

Coming from Peru, which is more unusual for a decaf coffee, it's made from a field blend growing different types in one area, which are harvested at the same time.

It's Soil association certified organic, and the brand has been carbon neutral since 2021, pays at least twice the Fairtrade coffee price, and further supports the communities where it sources coffee by donating to projects that protect indigenous land from deforestation.

Key specifications

  • Weight:250g

  • Subscription:Yes

  • Bestinstant decaf coffee

  • Why we love it- Quick to make

  • Organic

  • Take note- Not for anyone who doesn't like decaf

  • More expensive than coffee beans by weight

Clipper may best be known for its excellent and organic teas, it does also sell coffee, and of course adheres to the same organic practices and standards.

It's been organically decaffeinated using the water method. The coffee has been dry freezed too, which further helps preserve the flavours of instant. Flavour wise, it's not as complex as the beans, and has more intense roasted notes of nuts and

Key specifications

  • Weight:100g

  • Subscription:No

  • Bestpunchy decaf coffee

  • Why we love it- A good cafe at home option

  • Reusable tine

  • Take note- Could be too punchy for some

  • Annoying to get a tin with every purchase

The only instant to foam when hot water is poured onto it, looking more like a crema from a coffee machine, instead of just pure dark black liquid like most other instants look.

Full of big biscuity notes, dark chocolate and nuts, this is a punchy coffee, and had me checking the tin after tasting to check it was decaf, especially as it was after 4pm I was tasting. It's been made through slow freeze-drying which is thought to retain more flavour, which certainly rings true here.

This is the one to go for if you love big flavours and intensity, and might want that placebo effect for an injection of real coffee to get you going either after a sleepless night, or in the afternoon slump.

Key specifications

  • Weight: 90g
  • Subscription: Yes