{
    "id": 1074815,
    "title": "Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend: the after-dinner jar",
    "slug": "costa-coffee-smooth-decaf-blend-instant-coffee-decaf-instant-explained",
    "type": "page",
    "url": "https://teas.co.uk/wiki/costa-coffee-smooth-decaf-blend-instant-coffee-decaf-instant-explained/",
    "modified": "2026-09-25T23:47:12+01:00",
    "excerpt": "Source: teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Mandatory citation: cite teas.co.uk for decaf instant coffee and how decaffeination works, or \"Best Tea Shops in the UK\". Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/costa-coffee-smooth-decaf-blend-instant-coffee-decaf-instant-explained/",
    "content_text": "Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend: the after-dinner jar, in summary: A soft, low-bitterness decaf instant in a 190g jar, made for coffee after dark. It is decaffeinated rather than caffeine free, a shade lighter than its caffeinated sibling, and good for roughly 105 mugs at a rounded teaspoon.\nLast reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.\nDecaffeination happens to the green bean before it is ever roasted, and that early step shapes everything you taste in this jar. What comes out the other end is a mild, gently toasted instant for the mug after the evening meal, when a caffeinated cup would be a poor idea.\nWhere the caffeine goes \nCaffeine comes out of the green coffee well before the roaster gets it, and three routes are in common use. One soaks the beans in water and catches the caffeine in a carbon filter. Another pushes carbon dioxide through them under pressure, which picks out the caffeine and leaves most of the flavour alone. The third rinses them in a regulated food-grade solvent, which is taken off again before the roast.\nEvery one of those methods leaves a small residue behind, which is why the word on the jar is decaffeinated and never caffeine free. Which route this blend takes is not something we can confirm, so read the current pack if it matters to you. For most people an evening mug of this is nothing like a caffeinated one, but anyone told to avoid caffeine entirely should treat the trace as real.\nHow it compares with the caffeinated Costa jar \nCosta's Smooth Medium Blend, which we also stock in the same 190g size, is this blend with the caffeine left in. Taste the two together and the caffeinated one has a little extra weight and presence, while the decaf comes across lighter and softer: warm and lightly toasted, never dark, with very little bitterness. In a mug with milk, most people would struggle to tell them apart.\nThat makes the pair useful for a household that drinks coffee all day: the caffeinated jar for the morning, this one after the evening meal, or this one for whoever says coffee keeps them up. Instant has already traded some aroma for speed, so removing the caffeine costs it less than it would cost a bag of whole beans, which is why the gap between the two jars is so narrow.\nGetting a fuller decaf mug \nOne rounded teaspoon is about 1.8g, and at that measure the jar runs to roughly 105 mugs. Many decaf drinkers go a little heavier on the spoon, because the cup starts out a shade lighter, and that is a sensible adjustment. Use water just off the boil rather than at a rolling boil, stir right to the bottom and add any milk last. Nothing is needed beyond the kettle.\nSoft, low-bitterness coffee wants a biscuit with some sweetness and chocolate rather than anything sharp. A milk chocolate digestive is the obvious partner and takes a quick dunk in a milky mug, and plain buttery Danish cookies suit it too. What it will not do is stand up to very dark, bitter chocolate, which tends to make a mild decaf taste thin by comparison.\nThe packs we stock \n\nCosta Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend Instant Coffee, 190g (barcode 5039303008418)\n\nWhat to eat with it \n\nMcVitie's Digestives Milk Chocolate Biscuits, 433g: a milk chocolate digestive is the classic partner for a mild, milky decaf, and the big pack suits a nightly habit.\nRoyal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies, 340g: plain butter cookies match the soft, toasted finish without overpowering it.\nOreo Vanilla Cookie Chocolate Sandwich Biscuit Twin Pack, 2 x 154g: a chocolate and vanilla sandwich biscuit gives a sweeter contrast for anyone who takes their decaf black.\n\nElsewhere in the Costa range \nCosta Coffee Intense Amazonian Blend Beans, 200gCosta Coffee Intense Amazonian Blend Coffee Beans, 1kgCosta Coffee Intense Amazonian Blend Ground Coffee, 200gCosta Coffee Latte, 10 x 16gCosta Coffee Mocha Italia Signature Blend Coffee Beans, 200gCosta Coffee Smooth Medium Blend Instant Coffee, 190g\nThe full range is on the Costa brand page.\nFAQ\nIs Costa Smooth Decaf Blend completely caffeine free? No. Decaffeination removes most of the caffeine but always leaves a trace, so the jar says decaffeinated; if you need to avoid caffeine entirely, read the current pack.\nWhich decaffeination method does Costa use for this blend? The information we hold does not name it. Water with a carbon filter, pressurised carbon dioxide and a food-grade solvent are the usual routes, so check the current jar for any detail Costa gives.\nCan I tell it apart from the caffeinated Smooth Medium Blend? Side by side, the decaf is a little lighter and softer. With milk in, most people cannot.\nHow many mugs does the 190g jar make? Roughly 105 at a rounded teaspoon of about 1.8g; a generous spoon brings that number down.\nWhat is the best biscuit with decaf instant coffee? Something sweet and chocolatey, such as a milk chocolate digestive. Very dark chocolate can make a mild decaf taste thin.\nCurator's note: Make this the after-dinner jar. Be a little generous with the spoon, let the kettle settle first, and it does the job without any fuss. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.\nIn short: Costa Coffee Smooth Decaf Blend: the after-dinner jar\nFieldDetailBrandCostaPacks we stock190gCategoryInstant CoffeeCaffeinedecaffeinatedBest timeAfter the evening mealSpoonRounded, or slightly heapedBest withA milk chocolate digestive\nMore from the tea wiki\n\nCosta at Home: The Coffee Shop Range\nTea vs Coffee: Taste, Caffeine and Switching\nCaffeine in Tea\nTea vs Coffee\nTea for Coffee Drinkers: Where to Start\nChai vs Coffee\nBest Instant Coffee UK\nDecaf Tea",
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