Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, 300g
What saves this one is that Original was never a delicate coffee to begin with. Decaffeination takes something out of every bean it touches, and what it takes is usually the fine aromatic detail at the top of the cup. Original never sold itself on that. It sells a dark toasted register and a bitter edge that carries milk, and both come through the process largely intact, which is why it holds up better than most decaf jars and why the people who buy it keep buying it. The size is the only real question. In most houses decaf is the second jar, bought for one person or for after supper, and a second jar gets opened and closed for the better part of a year, by which point the aroma has quietly gone. The big one is right if decaf is what the household actually drinks all day. If it is the evening jar for one person, take a smaller one and keep it sealed.
Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, in brief.
Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, 300g is the decaffeinated version of Britain's most familiar instant coffee, in the large household jar rather than the small one. Dark, roasty and full bodied enough to take milk, it keeps the Nescafe Original character and removes the caffeine, so an evening mug tastes like a morning one instead of a substitute.
Nescafe Original Decaf is the decaffeinated version of the instant coffee that sits in more British kitchen cupboards than any other. The character is deliberately the same: dark, roasty, faintly bitter in the way a strong builder's coffee is supposed to be, with enough body to stand up to milk. The difference is what has been taken out rather than what has been put in, so the nine o'clock mug tastes like the eight o'clock one instead of like a compromise.
This is the 300g jar, the large household size rather than the small one, which matters more than it sounds. Decaf tends to be the second jar in a house, the one bought for one person or for the evening, and it gets opened and closed for months. Buying the big jar means fewer restocks, a lower price per mug, and one jar rather than three going through the recycling. It is the sensible size for a household where somebody drinks decaf all day, or where two people share a jar in the evening.
Curator notes: our roast, body, bitterness and acidity ratings are editorial opinion, weighed against the 300g jar in its current form and what Nestle publishes. A 300g decaf order is usually boxed up and posted inside 1 to 2 working days. For how to keep the big jar fresh once open, and how much to use per mug, see the Q and A tab below.
Curator’s notes
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The Story Behind Nescafe
Nescafe is Nestle's soluble coffee brand and has been sold since 1938, which makes it one of the oldest continuously produced instant coffees in the world. Original is the house blend that the rest of the range is measured against, and the decaffeinated version exists so that people who like that specific flavour are not forced to change brands at four in the afternoon. Nestle runs the Nescafe Plan sourcing programme across the brand; the exact wording and any certification marks that apply to this pack are printed on the current jar, so check it if that is what you are buying on.
Packaging: Kerbside rules vary from council to council, so check the jar's own recycling notes before splitting jar, lid and label between bins.
Getting A Good Mug Out Of This Jar
- Water temperature: 90 to 95°C. Boiling water is the most common reason instant tastes harsh.
- Measure: One rounded teaspoon per 200ml; scale up rather than steeping longer, because there is no steeping to do.
- Dissolve: Paste first, then top up. It takes five seconds and removes the sludge.
- Milk: Works well with dairy and with oat. Almond milk tends to thin the body out.
- Iced version: Dissolve two teaspoons in 40ml of hot water, stir in sugar while it is still warm, then pour over a full glass of ice and top with cold milk.
- Caffeine note: Decaffeinated, so it suits the evening, late shifts and anyone cutting caffeine down rather than out.
- Best with: Buttered toast, a digestive biscuit, or on its own after dinner.
Storage And Frank Notes
Keep the lid on. Soluble coffee is hygroscopic, meaning it pulls moisture out of the air. A jar left open above a kettle will clump and lose aroma within weeks. Store it somewhere cool and dry, away from steam, and it holds its character to the bottom of the jar.
Ingredients and dietary suitability: Of the 14 major allergens, the published ingredients for this 300g barcode list none at all. Recipes and allergy statements get updated, so the label on the large jar you receive has the final say.
On the word decaffeinated: decaffeinated coffee is not caffeine free. The process removes the large majority of the caffeine, and a small residual trace remains. For zero caffeine, put the kettle on for a herbal infusion; neither this nor any other decaf gets there.
Best before: printed on the jar. Instant coffee does not spoil in the way fresh food does, but it fades, and an old jar tastes dusty rather than dark.
Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, 300g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Nescafé
Nescafé invented mass-market instant coffee in 1938 and has been refining it ever since. The Azera range brings cafe-quality micro-ground instant coffee; Gold Blend is the premium freeze-dried; the Original is the everyday standard.
Packaging: Kerbside rules vary from council to council, so check the jar's own recycling notes before splitting jar, lid and label between bins.
Our commitment to the planet
Sourcing and packaging details are printed on the current UK pack; the brand page carries the fuller story.
The taste profile
How does it compare
Instant coffee is forgiving, but it is not indifferent. Pour from a kettle still at a rolling boil and the granules scald, which leaves the mug tasting flat, papery and bitter. Letting the kettle stand for thirty seconds before pouring is the single change that improves most mugs of instant in this country.
The Everyday Mug
The Evening Milk Coffee
Made with this tea
The Paste-First Mug
How to make The Paste-First Mug with Nescafe Original Decaf.
- 1 rounded teaspoon Nescafe Original Decaf
- 200ml water, boiled then rested 30 seconds
- Milk to taste
- Sugar to taste
- Spoon 1 rounded teaspoon of Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, 300g into a dry mug.
- Add a splash of the hot water, about a tablespoon, and stir into a glossy paste.
- Fill the mug with the rest of the water at 90 to 95°C.
- Finish with milk and sugar last, never before the coffee has dissolved.
What you'll end up with: No grit at the bottom and no scalded, papery bitterness. Five seconds of extra work that fixes most complaints about instant coffee.
Evening Milk Coffee
How to make Evening Milk Coffee with Nescafe Original Decaf.
- 2 teaspoons Nescafe Original Decaf
- 50ml hot water
- 150ml whole or oat milk
- Sugar to taste
- Dissolve 2 teaspoons of the decaf granules in 50ml of hot water, and keep the spoon going until the surface turns glossy.
- Warm 150ml of whole or oat milk until steaming but not boiling; boiled milk tastes cooked and dulls the roast.
- Pour the hot milk onto the concentrate from a height to get some air into it.
- Sweeten if you want it, though the milk does most of that job.
What you'll end up with: A proper late milk coffee with the caffeine problem removed, which is the entire reason the decaf jar exists.
Iced Decaf Latte
How to make Iced Decaf Latte with Nescafe Original Decaf.
- 2 teaspoons Nescafe Original Decaf
- 40ml hot water
- A full glass of ice
- 150ml cold milk
- 1 teaspoon sugar, optional
- Dissolve 2 teaspoons of Original Decaf in just 40ml of hot water.
- Stir in the sugar now, while the liquid is still warm; it will not dissolve once the drink is cold.
- Fill a tall glass to the top with ice, then pour the concentrate over it.
- Top with 150ml of cold milk; one stir is plenty.
What you'll end up with: Cold suppresses bitterness, so this reads sweeter and rounder than the same coffee hot. Fill the glass properly with ice or it dilutes.
Fridge Jug Cold Coffee
How to make Fridge Jug Cold Coffee with Nescafe Original Decaf.
- 4 teaspoons Nescafe Original Decaf
- 100ml hot water
- 500ml cold water
- 2 teaspoons sugar, optional
- Dissolve 4 teaspoons of Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, 300g and any sugar in 100ml of hot water.
- Top up the jug with 500ml of cold water, stirring as it goes in.
- Chill for at least two hours, or overnight.
- Serve over ice with milk, or straight and black.
What you'll end up with: A jug of cold coffee ready in the fridge. Keeps two days covered; after that it starts to taste tired.
Coffee Essence For Baking
How to turn Original Decaf into a strong coffee syrup for sponges and buttercream.
- 2 heaped teaspoons Nescafe Original Decaf
- 1 tablespoon boiling water
- Your usual sponge or buttercream recipe
- Slake 2 heaped teaspoons of Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, 300g in 1 tablespoon of boiling water and stir to a thick, dark syrup.
- Cool the syrup for a minute first; added hot, it would melt the butter.
- Beat it into buttercream, or fold it into a coffee and walnut sponge batter.
- Use less liquid elsewhere in the recipe if you are adding more than a tablespoon.
What you'll end up with: Strong coffee flavour with almost no added liquid, which is exactly what a sponge needs. Being decaf, it can be served to children and to anyone avoiding caffeine.
Decaf Affogato
How to make Decaf Affogato with Nescafe Original Decaf.
- 2 heaped teaspoons Nescafe Original Decaf
- 60ml hot water
- 4 scoops vanilla ice cream
- Dark chocolate to grate over, optional
- Dissolve 2 heaped teaspoons of Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, 300g in 60ml of hot water to make a strong, short coffee.
- Scoop vanilla ice cream into two small glasses, 2 scoops in each.
- Pour the coffee over the scoops while it is still hot, with the glasses already on the table.
- Grate some dark chocolate over each glass, if you fancy it.
What you'll end up with: A two-minute dessert. The dark, low-acid roast is well suited to this, and the decaf means it can go on the table at nine at night.
Brewing the perfect cup
Inside the pack
| Typical values per 100g, as published | Per 100g |
|---|---|
| Energy | 19 kcal |
| Fat | 0g |
| of which saturates | 0g |
| Carbohydrate | 4.3g |
| of which sugars | 4.3g |
| Fibre | 0g |
| Protein | 0g |
| Salt | 0g |
Ingredients and allergens. Of the 14 major allergens, the published ingredients for this 300g barcode list none at all. Recipes and allergy statements get updated, so the label on the large jar you receive has the final say.
Ingredients, as published for this barcode: Decaffeinated soluble coffee.
Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. If the 300g jar in front of you disagrees, go with the jar.
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Soluble (instant) coffee, decaffeinated | 100% of the jar contents | The only thing in the jar. Everything in the cup, body, bitterness and aroma, comes from this. |
| Bean species and origin split | Not disclosed by the brand | Nescafe publishes this as a blend rather than a single origin. The dark, low-acid, faintly bitter register is the house character the blend is built to hit. |
| Decaffeination | Applied before roasting, as is standard commercial practice | Removes the large majority of the caffeine while leaving the roast character intact. A small residual trace of caffeine remains; decaf is not caffeine free. |
| Added ingredients | None | No sugar, no milk powder, no flavourings. Sweetness, milk and flavour only arrive if you add them yourself. |
Pack: Original Decaf in the large 300g jar, holding decaffeinated soluble coffee and nothing more. The jar itself carries the best before date.
Composition shown at the level the brand publishes it; the exact bean split and the decaffeination method used for this SKU are not disclosed, and we do not guess at them. Nutrition figures for black coffee, and the full allergen statement, are printed on the current UK jar.
Sourcing & blend. Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, 300g is made by Nestle, which has produced soluble coffee under the Nescafe name since 1938. Original is the house blend the rest of the range is measured against, and this is that blend with the caffeine taken out rather than a separate recipe. Nestle runs the Nescafe Plan sourcing programme across the brand; the exact claims and certification marks that apply to this jar are printed on the current UK pack, so read it if that is what you are buying on.
What is in Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, 300g, and what is not:
- In: decaffeinated soluble coffee, and nothing else. A single-ingredient product.
- No artificial colours, preservatives or added sugar: there is no sweetness in the jar to speak of; what you taste is roast.
- Packaging: the jar, lid and label may not all go in the same bin. Your council's rules and the jar's recycling notes decide which bin.
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Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, 300g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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