# Decaf & regular coffee: taste difference? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2004, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decaf-regular-coffee-taste-difference/248527 "2004-06-03T22:48:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decaf-regular-coffee-taste-difference/248527/1 "2004-06-03T22:48:24Z")
I’m not a coffee drinker, but several cow-orkers are. When one makes a pot, the others will ask whether or not it’s decaf or regular. Given a single brand, is there a difference in taste? ---
**Author:** ![Kneepants\_Erasmus\_the\_Humanist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@Kneepants\_Erasmus\_the\_Humanist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kneepants_Erasmus_the_Humanist)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decaf-regular-coffee-taste-difference/248527/2 "2004-06-04T01:24:44Z")
I am not a coffee drinker either…but caffeine is caffeine, no? In college I elected to avoid all caffeine for two weeks. That entailed switching to caffeine-free coke. I thought it tasted awful. _shrug_Supposedly it has no taste but I swore I noticed a difference. Maybe it tasted crappy because my head hurt so horribly. ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decaf-regular-coffee-taste-difference/248527/3 "2004-06-04T01:28:46Z")
Big taste difference, especially among brands you’re likely to find in a workplace. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decaf-regular-coffee-taste-difference/248527/4 "2004-06-04T13:03:01Z")
Getting the caffeine out is hard when trying to preserve taste. The process of removing the caffeine can wash away some taste. I’ve grabbed decaf by mistake and returned to get regular when it came up lame on the taste buds. There is overlap though. Great decaf can be better than poor quality regular or poorly made regular. ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decaf-regular-coffee-taste-difference/248527/5 "2004-06-04T14:03:11Z")
When I drink coffee, it is not for the taste. I like the little buzz I get from the caffine. I drink coffe by the quart when I drink it. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decaf-regular-coffee-taste-difference/248527/6 "2004-06-04T15:26:10Z")
I’m under the impression that caffeine itself tastes bitter and “sharp”. Could be an illusion wrought by various decaffeinating processes, although I don’t think you have to decaffeinate soft drinks so much as just refrain from adding it in in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decaf-regular-coffee-taste-difference/248527/7 "2004-06-04T15:27:50Z")
Depends. The decaffeination process can use any of several different solvents - methylene chloride or ethyl acetate are organic solvents used, there’s CO2 extraction, and there’s the swiss water process. A fairly interesting [overview](http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1219848&lastnode_id=473016) can be found at [everything2.com](http://everything2.com). The different solvents have different effects, but you have to realize that caffeine is only one of many alkaloids found in coffee, and some of them are important contributors to flavor. The more effectively the caffeine is removed, the more the flavor components will be leached away as well. I’ve never found there to be a terribly dramatic difference in flavor, but decaf is well-known to be flatter-tasting, and I find that to be true at least in my own experience. There’s no process so fool-proof as to specifically wash away the caffeine without effecting the flavor, and some of the complexity of the flavor of a good coffee is lost. However, as was mentioned above, good decaf is way better than bad caffeinated. I don’t think the difference is enough to bother me - I doubt I’d notice if I wasn’t looking for it. But then, I need the caffeine to get me moving in the mornings (and afternoons) anyway, so my decaf experience is limited. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decaf-regular-coffee-taste-difference/248527/8 "2004-06-04T15:30:20Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I’m under the impression that caffeine itself tastes bitter and “sharp”. Could be an illusion wrought by various decaffeinating processes, although I don’t think you have to decaffeinate soft drinks so much as just refrain from adding it in in the first place. It does, in my experience. It has an extremely bitter flavor (but then, a lot of medicines have a similar flavor to me - I suspect it’s probably something pretty common to most amines. At any rate, my advice is to swallow caffeine pills with water - don’t try to suck on them like candy.) The soft drink companies claim they add caffeine for its flavor, but personally I doubt I could tell the difference. It’s really there as a low-level, legal stimulant. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decaf-regular-coffee-taste-difference/248527/9 "2004-06-04T16:40:02Z")
I definitely notice a taste difference between decaf and regular, which is a pity as I get insomnia if I drink caffeine in the afternoon or evenings. So I tend to just skip the coffee altogether rather than drink decaf. Caffeine-free Coke, on the other hand, tastes exactly the same to me. ---
**Author:** ![Phedre\_no\_Delaunay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@Phedre\_no\_Delaunay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phedre_no_Delaunay)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decaf-regular-coffee-taste-difference/248527/10 "2004-06-04T18:44:06Z")
I am a coffee addict, so I buy really good coffee from a local roaster. I notice the decaf of my favorite varieties is a bit more mellow than the regular version, but not necessarily in a bad way. I can’t really speak to grocery store brands though.