Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g
Decaf is easiest to pull off in a jar. Soluble coffee has already traded some of its aroma for convenience, so the extra loss from decaffeination has less distance to fall than it does in a bag of beans, which is why the gap between this and the caffeinated version of the same blend is narrow enough that most people stop noticing it inside a week. It is soft, quietly toasted, low in bitterness and short in the finish. Decaffeinated is not caffeine-free: a trace survives the process, as it does in every decaf sold anywhere, so read the pack if you are avoiding caffeine on medical advice.
Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, in brief.
Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend is the decaffeinated version of the Costa instant jar, soft and low in bitterness, picked into the teas.co.uk curator selection as the evening jar for anyone who wants the taste of coffee after six without the consequences at one in the morning.
Against the caffeinated version of the same blend it reads slightly lighter and slightly softer, which is a fair observation rather than damning; the gap is now small. A decaf is not free of caffeine.
Decaf has a reputation it earned twenty years ago and has been slowly living down ever since. The old complaint was that taking the caffeine out took the flavour with it, and for a long time that was fair. Modern decaffeination is far gentler than it was, and a decaf instant now sits close enough to its caffeinated sibling that most people would not identify it blind in a milky mug. It is not identical, and this listing is not going to pretend otherwise: decaf reads slightly lighter and slightly softer than the same blend with the caffeine left in. What has changed is that the gap is now small rather than embarrassing.
Curator notes: smoothness, body, roast depth and bitterness are scored by us, from the 190g jar as sold and Costa's own description. We usually dispatch Costa's decaf jar in 1 to 2 working days. Further down: residual caffeine, mugs per jar, how decaf is made, gritty mugs and jars that set solid.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
How Decaffeination Actually Works
Caffeine is taken out of green coffee, before roasting, and there are three routes in common use. The water process soaks the beans and passes the liquid through a carbon filter that catches caffeine while flavour compounds are returned to the beans. The carbon dioxide process uses CO2 under pressure, which behaves as a selective solvent for caffeine and leaves most else alone. Solvent processes use a food-grade solvent that is removed before roasting. All three are regulated and all three leave a small residual amount of caffeine, which is why no decaf is ever described as caffeine free.
Packaging: The jar and its lid may need different handling, so read Costa's notes on the label and your council's rules.
What You Are Actually Buying
- Weight: 190g of decaffeinated soluble coffee in a lidded jar.
- Cups per jar: at a standard 1.8g measure, which is one rounded teaspoon, roughly 105 mugs.
- Preparation: one rounded teaspoon in a mug, just boiled water, then a stir. No equipment at all.
Ideal Preparation
Decaf punishes the standard instant mistakes slightly harder than caffeinated coffee does, because there is a little less in the cup to cover them up. Two habits account for nearly every disappointing mug.
The Standard Mug
- Measure: one rounded teaspoon for each 200ml mug, roughly 1.8g. Many people find a decaf mug improves with a slightly generous spoon, because the cup is naturally lighter.
- Water: just off the boil, roughly 90 to 95 degrees Celsius. Let the kettle stand thirty seconds; water at a rolling boil scalds the granules and adds a burnt edge.
- Stir: give it five seconds, and add nothing else until then. Grit at the bottom means a weaker drink above it.
- Milk: last, never first. Milk poured onto dry granules drops the temperature so far that they never dissolve properly.
The Evening Mug
- Dose: a generous rounded teaspoon, because you are drinking this for the taste rather than the lift.
- Water: 150ml rather than 200ml, for a smaller, more concentrated cup that suits the end of the day.
- Finish: hot milk rather than a cold splash, which keeps the drink warm longer and rounds it further.
- Result: something closer to a small milky coffee than a mug of it, and a far better nightcap than a big weak one.
Getting It Right in the Cup
- Water temperature: slightly below boiling, at about 90 to 95 degrees Celsius.
- Measure: 1.8g per 200ml, which is one rounded teaspoon, or slightly more for a fuller cup.
- Storage: a firmly closed lid, a dry cupboard and never a wet spoon. One damp teaspoon will clump the jar into a brick within weeks, and clumped granules dissolve unevenly and taste flat.
- Iced: start by dissolving two spoons in a little hot water; the ice and cold milk go in after that. Granules will not dissolve in cold liquid.
- Caffeine note: decaffeinated and caffeine free are different things. A small residual amount remains, which is true of every decaf coffee sold anywhere. Anyone avoiding caffeine entirely should read the current pack.
- Best with: after dinner, a slice of cake, an evening in front of the television, or any moment where you want the drink without the consequences.
Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Costa
Costa is the British coffee chain that grew from a Lambeth coffee bar to the UK's biggest cafe brand. Their retail range includes ground coffee, instant, and pods designed to deliver the cafe drink experience at home.
Packaging: The jar and its lid may need different handling, so read Costa's notes on the label and your council's rules.
The taste profile
How does it compare
Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g dissolves completely and carries coffee flavour without adding liquid, and because it is decaffeinated it is the jar you can reach for after six without thinking about it. Six builds below cover the standard mug done properly, a small evening cup, two cold and whipped drinks, a late mocha and a coffee icing.
Made with this tea
The Standard Mug, Made Properly
How to make The Standard Mug, Made Properly with Costa Smooth Decaf.
- 1 rounded teaspoon Costa Smooth Decaf
- 200ml water just off the boil
- Milk to taste
- Boil the kettle and allow thirty seconds for the water to fall a touch below boiling.
- Add one rounded teaspoon of Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g to the mug and pour on 200ml of water.
- Stir for a full five seconds, until the liquid is completely clear of granules.
- Add milk last, never first.
What you'll end up with: The two mistakes that ruin most instant coffee are boiling water and milk poured in first, and a gentle decaf has less in reserve to cover either of them.
The Evening Mug
A smaller, stronger decaf cup to end the day.
- 1 generous teaspoon Costa Smooth Decaf
- 100ml water just off the boil
- 50ml hot milk
- Dissolve a generous teaspoon of Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g in 100ml of water just off the boil.
- Heat 50ml of milk to steaming point without letting it boil.
- Pour the milk in slowly and stir once.
What you'll end up with: A small strong cup rather than a big weak one. Concentration is what makes a light coffee worth drinking at the end of the day.
Whipped Frothy Coffee
How to make Whipped Frothy Coffee with Costa Smooth Decaf.
- 2 teaspoons Costa Smooth Decaf
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons cold water
- 200ml hot or cold milk
- Combine 2 teaspoons of Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g with 2 teaspoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cold water in a mug or bowl.
- Beat it hard, by spoon, fork or electric whisk, until it thickens and turns pale caramel; by hand that is about a minute.
- Pour 200ml of milk, hot or cold to suit you, into a glass.
- Spoon the frothy coffee onto the milk and let it sink in as you stir and sip.
What you'll end up with: Works exactly as well with decaf as with caffeinated coffee, and makes a rather good late-evening drink. The sugar is doing structural work, so it will not whip without it.
Iced Decaf That Is Not Watery
How to make Iced Decaf That Is Not Watery with Costa Smooth Decaf.
- 2 teaspoons Costa Smooth Decaf
- 50ml hot water
- 200ml cold milk
- Ice
- Dissolve 2 teaspoons of the Smooth Decaf in 50ml of hot water, stirring until the liquid runs clear.
- Cool the concentrate for a minute, or stand the cup in cold water to speed it along.
- Fill a tall glass with ice and pour over 200ml of cold milk.
- Pour the concentrate over the top and stir once.
What you'll end up with: Doubling the dose is what stops iced coffee tasting like cold milk, and with a decaf jar it is not optional.
Late Night Mocha
How to make Late Night Mocha with Costa Smooth Decaf.
- 1 heaped teaspoon Costa Smooth Decaf
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 250ml hot milk
- Mix a heaped teaspoon of Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g with 2 teaspoons of cocoa and 1 teaspoon of sugar in the mug.
- Add a splash of hot water and work it into a smooth paste, which stops the cocoa going lumpy.
- Top with 250ml of hot milk, stirring as you pour.
What you'll end up with: The paste step is the whole difference between a smooth mocha and a mug with cocoa floating on top. A decaf base is what makes it a sensible drink at ten at night.
Coffee Icing For Sponge
How to make Coffee Icing For Sponge with Costa Smooth Decaf.
- 2 teaspoons Costa Smooth Decaf
- 1 tablespoon hot water
- 100g softened butter
- 200g icing sugar
- Dissolve 2 teaspoons of Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g in 1 tablespoon of hot water and leave it to cool.
- Beat 100g of softened butter with 200g of sifted icing sugar until pale.
- Add the cooled coffee a little at a time, beating between additions.
What you'll end up with: Decaf is a thoughtful choice for a family tea, since a coffee cake made with caffeinated coffee is a real problem for the children who eat two slices.
Brewing the perfect cup
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Decaffeinated soluble coffee | the whole jar | Real coffee, decaffeinated as green bean, then brewed at scale and dried back to granules. A plain instant jar holds nothing else: no chicory, no filler, no added flavouring. |
| Roast level | medium, smooth house style | Costa's smooth blend is roasted for roundness rather than darkness, which suits decaffeinated coffee well because the process already softens the cup. |
| Bean composition | not declared as a percentage | No fixed origin or species split is published for this jar in a form we can verify, so none is quoted. Anyone who needs that information should look on the current label. |
Pack: Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g; decaffeinated soluble coffee in a lidded jar. That is about 105 mugs, one rounded 1.8g teaspoon at a time. Decaffeination leaves a trace of caffeine, so this jar is not caffeine free. The jar carries the best before date; once it is open, keep the lid on tight and the spoon dry.
We describe what is in it by process, not by percentage. No origin, species split, decaffeination route or residual caffeine figure is quoted here, because none of those is declared in a form we can verify, and a made-up number is worse than no number.
Sourcing & blend. Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g carries the name of Costa, the British coffee house chain, and the jar is the retail arm of that brand rather than a shop drink in powdered form. The blend is built for roundness rather than roast darkness, which is a sensible brief for a decaffeinated coffee, because decaffeination softens the cup a little on its own and a dark roast on top of that can read hollow. Caffeine is removed from the green bean before roasting, so everything that happens afterwards, the roast, the brewing at scale and the drying, is the same sequence as for any other jar. Which decaffeination route Costa used, and any certification marks, can be read on the current jar.
What's in Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g, and what isn't:
- In: decaffeinated soluble coffee and nothing else. This is the plain jar, not a latte, cappuccino or flavoured sachet product; those are different formulations with milk powders and sugars in them.
- No artificial colours, preservatives or added sugar: nothing is added back after drying.
- Not caffeine free: decaffeination removes the large majority of the caffeine and leaves a small residual amount. That is true of every decaffeinated coffee sold.
- Energy: drunk black and unsweetened, a mug adds almost nothing nutritionally. The calories in an instant coffee come from the milk and sugar you add afterwards.
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Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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