So, is coffee really coffee if it’s Decaf?
That’s the question I pose to you, my readers, especially those of the coffee-persuasion.
I tend to lean towards the NO side of this debate. Afterall, one does not find decaf beans growing on coffee bushes, waiting to be harvested.
Just sayin’…
(read my ‘Goat-Joe Love & Laura’s Sumatra’ posts, part 1 & part 2, for fun info on this subject)
Can people tell the differences? I don’t coffee, but I have seen friends have it and not know it was not regular.
I think it depends upon the coffee drinker…I’m a bit of a snob, but will admit there are certain brands that offer a better decaf product – probably due to the method of decaffeination as well as the type of bean/roast.
I looked up the spelling after I entered the comment for those who care, the correct spelling is “connoisseur”.
🙂
Obviously you are a serious coffee conneiseur (excuse spelling). I prefer leaded partially for the kick but also seems to taste different.Same reason in one coffee shop that they nickname a latte that is low fat and decaf a “why bother”
Oh I love that new term you mentioned – I can just hear it now, in barista lingo: One why-bother mocha, $3.50 please
Ha!
Wow, people are very serious about their coffee here. I am extremely sensitive to caffeine and must be careful about any sort of “altering” substance, if you know what I mean. Makes it harder to stick with recovery. So I mix my caffeinated and decaf half and half. I’d rather sacrifice a little of the taste than shake like a leaf the rest of the day.
Stay true to your recovery, LuLu!
Full disclosure: I go on a ‘half&half’ periodically to help regulate the cumulative effects of my java jones…and if I’m in the midst of a tight performance schedule, the caffeine is the first dietary item to be chucked!
I drink one, maybe two cups per day, and I like it very strong for those few times, especially first thing in the morning. So I am not a decaf drinker; I don’t see the point of it. I want the “buzz” from the high-test stuff. As for drinking coffee all day, that would jangle my nerves too much. So…occasional high-test for me!
Hey David! Kinda the same premise as eating quality chocolate or special foods rather than a whole bagful of imitation/lofat/no flavor substitutes…
And, for the record, I restrict my java jones to the AM, too!
Hmm… Decaf still tastes like coffee… But I guess it’s not the same if it ain’t got that kick!
For myself, I can taste the difference so that’s part of my vote against it. But that really only means it’s an inferior & altered & stupid coffee product. Ya know?
Oh golly, coffee!
Coffee, oh how I love thee. I’m hooked , I’m junked, I’m addicted (bows head in shame and subservience(sp). I’m so badly scarred that I can remember my first cup at age 11. I’ve had the stuff in all stages of intensity from something that tasted like warm weak tea (blah) to other concoctions resembling crankcase oil that would peel paint off of submarines and in places from here to the Black Sea. But with that said I can’t tell the difference in taste between decaf and caffeinated. Weird I know. I do agree, though, that “real” coffee is caffeinated.
Bob, you’re a real hard-core java guy…I like that! You take yours ‘leaded’ for sure!
So you started the habit at a tender age? Didn’t your Mama ever tell you it’d ‘stunt your growth?’ 😀
She did warn me about that and it was true, it did stunt my growth. Upon reaching maturity I was only 8′ 3″. Ah the sins of our youth.
…and yet you fit into that Cessna 2-seater without a hitch…
😉
I’m no longer a coffee drinker (nor do I play one on TV), but as a tea drinker who imbibes in regular and decaffeinated teas, I’d have to say that yes, decaf is still coffee, as tea is tea whether I get a jolt from it or merely a calming peace. But then tea and coffee are different, so….
Take my vote with a few grains of salt! 😀
warmbrownliquidpeace
I think I’ll take your vote with a few drops of honey – HA!
Funny how a cuppa (beverage of choice) can deliver both a jolt and a sense of peaceful well-being. 😉
t&cpeace
Great question, Laura! I found several articles on the subject, including these two:
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/04/how-decaffeinated-coffee-is-made/
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/08/25/truth-about-decaf-coffee/
So the answer to your question is yes! Decaf coffee is indeed coffee! 🙂
Great links, Linda! I knew about the two decaf processes…but not that decaf really should be called lo-caf (my term). Okay, lo-caf is altered & stupid coffee!
Good question! Although I don’t drink decaf (what’s the point?), I think I’d still call it coffee. Stupid coffee, but coffee.
Yep, I agree…what’s the point?
I like the term “Stupid coffee”, Janis!
😉