{
    "id": 1073107,
    "title": "Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g",
    "slug": "costa-coffee-smooth-decaf-blend-instant-coffee-190g",
    "type": "product",
    "url": "https://teas.co.uk/product/costa-coffee-smooth-decaf-blend-instant-coffee-190g/",
    "modified": "2026-09-25T23:28:16+01:00",
    "excerpt": "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.Ingredients and dietary suitability: Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes. Against the caffeinated version of the same blend it reads slightly lighter and slightly softer, which is honest rather than damning; the gap is now small. Decaffeinated is not the same as caffeine free.Curator notes: the tasting profile is our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description. We run same-day UK dispatch on every order placed before 2pm Monday to Friday. Common questions are answered in the detailed Q and A tab below.",
    "content_text": "Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend is the decaffeinated version of the Costa instant jar, sold in the 190g household size. It exists for a specific and very common problem: people who like the taste of coffee in the evening and do not want to be awake at one in the morning because of it. 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. The Taste Profile\n\nSmoothness: \u25cf\u25cf\u25cf\u25cf\u25cf (5/5) The name is the brief, and decaffeination softens the cup further still.\nBody: \u25cf\u25cf\u25cf\u25cb\u25cb (3/5) Medium, a shade lighter than the caffeinated version of the same blend.\nRoast Depth: \u25cf\u25cf\u25cf\u25cb\u25cb (3/5) Medium, with a gentle toasted warmth rather than any real darkness.\nBitterness: \u25cf\u25cf\u25cb\u25cb\u25cb (2/5) Low, which is both the blend's intention and a side effect of the process.\n\nTeas.co.uk Curator Rating: 4.4 / 5 - Our expert verdict from the curators at Teas.co.uk. How Decaffeination Actually Works\nCaffeine 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.\nPackaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes. What You Are Actually Buying\n\nWeight: 190g of decaffeinated soluble coffee in a lidded jar.\nCups per jar: at a standard 1.8g measure, which is one rounded teaspoon, roughly 105 mugs.\n\nPreparation: one rounded teaspoon, water just off the boil, stir. No equipment at all.\n How Does Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g Compare to:\n\nCosta Coffee Smooth Medium Blend Instant Coffee, 190g: the same blend with the caffeine left in, and the only sensible comparison to make. Side by side the caffeinated jar has slightly more body and slightly more presence; this one is softer and lighter. Most households end up with both, one for the morning and one for after six.\nNescaf\u00e9 Gold Blend Decaf Instant Coffee, 190g: the market leader in decaf instant, freeze dried and a touch more aromatic in the jar. The choice comes down to which house style you prefer rather than to quality, and Costa's is the rounder, gentler of the two.\nDouwe Egberts Pure Decaf Instant Coffee, 190g: the continental option, generally a shade more assertive in the cup than either British jar. Worth trying if you find decaf too polite, because it is the least apologetic of the three.\n Ideal Preparation\nDecaf 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\n\nMeasure: one rounded teaspoon, about 1.8g, per 200ml mug. Many people find a decaf mug improves with a slightly generous spoon, because the cup is naturally lighter.\nWater: 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.\nStir: five full seconds before anything else goes in. Grit at the bottom means a weaker drink above it.\nMilk: last, never first. Milk poured onto dry granules drops the temperature so far that they never dissolve properly.\n The Evening Mug\n\nDose: a generous rounded teaspoon, because you are drinking this for the taste rather than the lift.\nWater: 150ml rather than 200ml, for a smaller, more concentrated cup that suits the end of the day.\nFinish: hot milk rather than a cold splash, which keeps the drink warm longer and rounds it further.\nResult: something closer to a small milky coffee than a mug of it, and a far better nightcap than a big weak one.\n Getting It Right in the Cup\n\nWater temperature: just off the boil, around 90 to 95 degrees Celsius.\nMeasure: 1.8g per 200ml, which is one rounded teaspoon, or slightly more for a fuller cup.\nStorage: lid tight, dry cupboard, dry spoon every time. One damp teaspoon will clump the jar into a brick within weeks, and clumped granules dissolve unevenly and taste flat.\nIced: dissolve two spoons in a small splash of hot water first, then pour over cold milk and ice. Granules will not dissolve in cold liquid.\nCaffeine note: decaffeinated is not the same as caffeine free. A small residual amount remains, which is true of every decaf coffee sold anywhere. Anyone avoiding caffeine entirely should read the current pack.\nBest 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.\n Safety And Purity\nIngredients and dietary suitability: Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.\nAllergen note: plain soluble coffee carries no declarable allergens, but production sites vary and many also handle milk-based coffee mixes.\nIt contributes essentially no energy before milk or sugar are added.\nResidual caffeine: worth repeating plainly. Decaffeinated coffee is not caffeine free. Anyone under medical advice to avoid caffeine altogether should read the current pack rather than rely on the word decaf.\nChild safety: keep out of reach of younger children, for whom coffee is not a suitable drink whether decaffeinated or not.",
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        "servings": null,
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        "caffeine": "Decaffeinated",
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            "Decaffeinated Coffee",
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                "title": "Product Questions",
                "content": "Is decaf coffee completely caffeine free?No, and no decaf anywhere is. Decaffeination removes the large majority of the caffeine and leaves a small residual amount, which is why the legal term is decaffeinated rather than caffeine free. Anyone avoiding caffeine entirely should read the current pack rather than rely on the word. How many mugs do I get from a 190g jar?At a standard 1.8g measure, which is one rounded teaspoon, roughly 105 mugs Many decaf drinkers use a slightly generous spoon, because the cup is naturally a shade lighter. How is the caffeine actually removed?Before roasting, from the green bean, by one of three routes: a water process with a carbon filter, a carbon dioxide process using pressurised CO2, or a regulated food-grade solvent process. Does it taste the same as the caffeinated version?Close, but not identical, and it would be dishonest to claim otherwise. Side by side the caffeinated jar has slightly more body and slightly more presence. In a milky mug most people would not pick it out. The gap that decaf had twenty years ago has largely closed. Can I drink it in the evening?That is what it is for. With the great majority of the caffeine removed, an evening mug is a very different proposition from a caffeinated one. Individual sensitivity varies, so if you are unusually sensitive, treat the residual amount as real rather than nothing. Should I use water straight off the boil?No. Let the kettle stand about thirty seconds, so the water lands around 90 to 95 degrees. Rolling-boil water scalds soluble coffee and adds a burnt edge that milk will not hide. Why does my mug have grit in the bottom?Undissolved granules, from one of two causes: water that was not hot enough, or milk added before the coffee had dissolved. Stir for a full five seconds in hot water alone, then add the milk. Why has my jar turned into a solid block?Moisture. Soluble granules pull water straight out of the air, so a damp teaspoon or a lid left loose will set the whole jar within weeks. It is not a fault in the coffee, but clumped granules dissolve unevenly and the cup tastes flat. Dry spoon, tight lid, dry cupboard. Is there sugar, chicory or filler in the jar?No. A plain instant jar is soluble decaffeinated coffee and nothing else, which is what separates it from the latte, cappuccino and flavoured sachet products beside it, which do contain milk powders and sugars. Check the current pack for the full declaration. Can I make iced coffee with it?Yes, in the right order. Dissolve two spoons in a small splash of hot water first, then pour over cold milk and ice. Granules will not dissolve in cold liquid, and a decaf built at single strength is lost once the ice melts. Is Costa instant the same as a Costa shop coffee?No. A shop drink is espresso pulled from ground coffee; this is soluble coffee in a jar. It is the same brand and the same house style, but they are different products made by different processes, and the jar should be judged against other jars."
            },
            {
                "title": "Ingredients & Nutrition",
                "content": "ComponentProportionWhat it bringsDecaffeinated soluble coffeethe whole jarReal 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 levelmedium, smooth house styleCosta's smooth blend is roasted for roundness rather than darkness, which suits decaffeinated coffee well because the process already softens the cup.Bean compositionnot declared as a percentageNo fixed origin or species split is published for this jar in a form we can verify, so none is quoted. Check the current UK pack if it matters to you.Pack: Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g; decaffeinated soluble coffee in a lidded jar. Roughly 105 mugs at a rounded 1.8g teaspoon. Decaffeinated is not caffeine free; a small residual amount remains. See the pack for the best before date; once opened, keep the lid tight and use a dry spoon.Composition shown at process level rather than 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. The route used and the certification marks are printed on the current UK pack and should be read there.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: made black with nothing added, a mug contributes negligible energy. The calories in an instant coffee come from the milk and sugar you add afterwards."
            },
            {
                "title": "Flavour Science",
                "content": "The flavour of Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g is built in three layers, and reading them in order explains why the mug tastes the way it does from the moment the lid comes off to the last swallow. Two processes have already happened before the jar reaches you: the caffeine was removed from the green bean, and the coffee was brewed at scale and dried. Both leave a mark on the cup, and knowing which does what makes decaf far easier to buy well.The outer layer is aromatic, and this is where decaffeination shows most. Caffeine itself is close to odourless, so removing it does not remove aroma directly. What costs aroma is the handling: soaking green beans in water or pressurised carbon dioxide and then drying them again moves some of the precursor compounds that would have become aromatic during roasting. The result is a nose that sits a shade quieter than the caffeinated version of the same blend, gently toasted rather than assertive. A good modern decaf loses very little here, and the difference is far smaller than the reputation decaf carried twenty years ago.The flavour spike arrives mid palate and, as with any instant, it arrives all at once, because soluble granules dissolve together rather than in sequence. What you taste through the middle is a mild roast sweetness with a soft toasted warmth and very little acidity or bite. Two things are keeping the cup gentle: the blend is built smooth on purpose, and decaffeination softens it a little further. That is why a generous spoon often suits this jar better than a level one. Dosing up costs you nothing in harshness here, because nothing is being over extracted and there is little bitterness to amplify.The base structure is the finish, and it is short and clean rather than lingering. There is no drying grip at the back of the tongue and no bitter tail, which is exactly what an evening coffee should do: end tidily rather than sit with you. The trade is that a light finish gives milk little to hold onto, so a very large milky mug will thin the coffee out of the drink. The fix is concentration rather than volume, which is why a smaller, stronger evening cup is a better nightcap than a big weak one.Getting it right in the cup. Use one rounded teaspoon, about 1.8g, per 200ml mug, or slightly more if you want a fuller cup, with water just off the boil at roughly 90 to 95 degrees Celsius, which means letting the kettle stand thirty seconds. Water at a full rolling boil scalds the granules and adds a burnt note that milk will not hide, and a gentle coffee has nothing to hide it behind. Stir for a good five seconds before anything else goes in, and add milk only once the coffee has dissolved, because milk poured onto dry granules drops the temperature so far that they never dissolve at all. For an evening mug, try a generous spoon in 150ml with hot milk rather than a cold splash.How water and temperature change it. Instant is forgiving but not indifferent, and a decaffeinated jar has slightly less in reserve than a caffeinated one. Water that is too hot brings out a scorched note; water that is not hot enough leaves granules undissolved so the mug reads thin and gritty at once. Hard water flattens the aroma and makes the cup duller still, so a filter jug does more for a gentle coffee than for a robust one. Humidity matters more in this format than in any other, because soluble granules pull water straight out of the air, and a damp spoon or a loose lid will set the jar into a solid block within weeks; clumped coffee dissolves unevenly and tastes flat. For iced, dissolve two spoons in a splash of hot water first, because cold liquid will not dissolve granules and melting ice thins a light coffee to nothing. None of this is a fault in the coffee; it is the same jar responding to how you treat it, and once you settle on your spoon and your water the result repeats every time."
            },
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                "title": "Recipe Ideas",
                "content": "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.\nPreparation and serving ideas, born here first\n\n \n The Standard Mug, Made Properly\n \n How to make The Standard Mug, Made Properly with Costa Smooth Decaf.\n \n 1 min\n 1 mug\n Easy\n \n \n \n You'll need\n \n 1 rounded teaspoon Costa Smooth Decaf\n 200ml water just off the boil\n Milk to taste\n \n \n \n Method\n \n Boil the kettle and let it stand thirty seconds, so the water is off the boil rather than at it.\n Add one rounded teaspoon of Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g to the mug and pour on 200ml of water.\n Stir for a full five seconds, until the liquid is completely clear of granules.\n Add milk last, never first.\n \n \n \n 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.\n\n \n The Evening Mug\n \n How to make The Evening Mug with Costa Smooth Decaf.\n \n 2 min\n 1 small mug\n Easy\n \n \n \n You'll need\n \n 1 generous teaspoon Costa Smooth Decaf\n 100ml water just off the boil\n 50ml hot milk\n \n \n \n Method\n \n Dissolve a generous teaspoon of Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g in 100ml of water just off the boil.\n Heat 50ml of milk until steaming but not boiling.\n Pour the milk in slowly and stir once.\n \n \n \n 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.\n\n \n Whipped Frothy Coffee\n \n How to make Whipped Frothy Coffee with Costa Smooth Decaf.\n \n 4 min\n 1 mug\n Easy\n \n \n \n You'll need\n \n 2 teaspoons Costa Smooth Decaf\n 2 teaspoons sugar\n 2 teaspoons cold water\n 200ml hot or cold milk\n \n \n \n Method\n \n 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.\n Beat hard with the back of a spoon, a fork or an electric whisk until it turns pale caramel coloured and thick, about a minute by hand.\n Pour 200ml of milk into a glass, hot or cold as you prefer.\n Spoon the whipped coffee on top and stir it down as you drink.\n \n \n \n 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.\n\n \n Iced Decaf That Is Not Watery\n \n How to make Iced Decaf That Is Not Watery with Costa Smooth Decaf.\n \n 3 min\n 1 glass\n Easy\n \n \n \n You'll need\n \n 2 teaspoons Costa Smooth Decaf\n 50ml hot water\n 200ml cold milk\n Ice\n \n \n \n Method\n \n Dissolve 2 teaspoons of Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g in 50ml of hot water and stir until completely clear.\n Cool the concentrate for a minute, or stand the cup in cold water to speed it along.\n Fill a tall glass with ice and pour over 200ml of cold milk.\n Pour the concentrate over the top and stir once.\n \n \n \n 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.\n\n \n Late Night Mocha\n \n How to make Late Night Mocha with Costa Smooth Decaf.\n \n 4 min\n 1 mug\n Easy\n \n \n \n You'll need\n \n 1 heaped teaspoon Costa Smooth Decaf\n 2 teaspoons cocoa powder\n 1 teaspoon sugar\n 250ml hot milk\n \n \n \n Method\n \n 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.\n Add a splash of hot water and work it into a smooth paste, which stops the cocoa going lumpy.\n Top with 250ml of hot milk, stirring as you pour.\n \n \n \n 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.\n\n \n Coffee Icing For Sponge\n \n How to make Coffee Icing For Sponge with Costa Smooth Decaf.\n \n 5 min\n 1 cake\n Easy\n \n \n \n You'll need\n \n 2 teaspoons Costa Smooth Decaf\n 1 tablespoon hot water\n 100g softened butter\n 200g icing sugar\n \n \n \n Method\n \n Dissolve 2 teaspoons of Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g in 1 tablespoon of hot water and leave it to cool.\n Beat 100g of softened butter with 200g of sifted icing sugar until pale.\n Add the cooled coffee a little at a time, beating between additions.\n \n \n \n What you'll end up with: Using decaf here is a quiet kindness at a family tea, because a coffee cake made with caffeinated coffee is a genuine problem for the children who eat two slices."
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