Nescafé Original Decaf: Choosing the Evening Jar

Decaffeination usually strips away the fine aromatic detail at the top of a cup, and Nescafé Original never depended on that detail in the first place. That is why the decaf version keeps its character better than most, and why the real decision is the size of the jar rather than the coffee inside it.

How close it gets to the caffeinated jar

The label is as short as labels get: decaffeinated soluble coffee, and nothing else. The character is meant to match Original, with a dark, toasted register, a faintly cocoa-like depth, little acidity and a bitter edge in the finish that lets it carry milk. What Original trades on is that roast and that edge, and both come through decaffeination largely intact.

Taste the two jars together and the decaf seems slightly gentler in the middle of the mouthful; drink it on its own and the resemblance is what strikes you. Nothing about making it changes either: the same spoon, the same water, the same splash of milk. A household can keep one jar of each and switch over in the afternoon without anyone relearning their mug.

100g, 190g or 300g

Decaf is usually a household's second jar, kept for one drinker or for the evening, and it can sit open in the cupboard for months. Soluble coffee loses aroma once the seal is broken, so a jar that lingers for most of a year ends up duller than it started. For an evening cup for one, the 100g jar is the sensible size, finished while it still smells of coffee.

The 190g jar is the middle ground, for someone who has a decaf most days without it being their only coffee. The 300g jar belongs in a house where decaf is drunk from morning to night, or shared by a couple after supper; there it earns its place through fewer restocks and fewer empty jars going out. Whichever you pick, keep the lid tight and store the jar away from the steam of the kettle.

Making a better decaf mug

One rounded teaspoon, roughly 1.8g, suits a 200ml mug; use two if you like it strong or add a lot of milk. Instant cannot be steeped for longer, so the spoon is the only strength control you have. Let the kettle sit for about thirty seconds after it boils, so the water goes on at roughly 90 to 95 degrees instead of scalding the granules.

Drink it reasonably promptly, because instant releases its aroma in one burst the moment the water hits and is flatter a few minutes later. A word on caffeine: decaffeination removes most of it but leaves a small trace, as it does in every decaf coffee. If you need none at all, a herbal infusion is the right drink rather than any decaf jar.

The packs we stock

• Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, 100g (barcode 5011546415567)
• Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, 190g (barcode 8445291963788)
• Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, 300g (barcode 7613287317018)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for Nescafe Original Decaf Instant Coffee, 300g (barcode 7613287317018) names none of the 14 major allergens. Read the Original Decaf jar on sale; Nescafé can change this evening jar's recipe and allergen advice.

Ingredients, as published: Decaffeinated soluble coffee.

Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. Your Original Decaf jar is the final word.

What to eat with it

• McVitie's Milk Chocolate Digestives Biscuits, 266g: A milk chocolate digestive beside a dark, bitter-edged decaf is the classic after-supper pairing, and the smaller packet suits an evening-only habit.
• Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies, 340g: Butter cookies soften the roast and the bitter finish, a gentle partner for a milky evening mug.
• Border Dark Chocolate Ginger Organic Biscuits, 150g: Ginger heat and dark chocolate make a grown-up after-supper plate beside a decaf that still tastes of proper roast.

Elsewhere in the Nescafé range

• Nescafe Azera Americano Decaff Instant Coffee, 90g
• Nescafe Azera Americano Instant Coffee, 140g
• Nescafe Azera Americano Intense Instant Coffee with Finely Ground Beans, 140g
• Nescafe Azera Decaf Americano Instant Coffee with Finely Ground Beans, 135g
• Nescafe Cappuccino Decaf Unsweetened Taste Instant Coffee Sachets, 7 Sachets 105g
• Nescafe Cappuccino Instant Coffee, 7 Sachets

The full range is on the Nescafé brand page.

FAQ

Does Nescafé Original Decaf taste like normal Nescafé Original? Very nearly. It keeps the dark, toasted, slightly bitter character and only seems a little softer when you taste the two side by side.

Is Nescafé Original Decaf completely free of caffeine? No decaf coffee is. The process removes most of the caffeine and leaves a small trace behind.

Which jar size should I buy? Buy the size you will finish while the aroma is still there: 100g for an occasional evening cup, 300g only if decaf is the household's everyday coffee.

How much decaf should I use per mug? One rounded teaspoon, about 1.8g, per 200ml, or two for a strong or very milky mug.

What is in it? Decaffeinated soluble coffee and nothing else. Nescafé names none of the 14 major allergens in the Original Decaf list, though the jar you buy is what counts.

Curator's note: Buy the small jar if decaf is only the after-supper cup, and keep the lid tight between uses. A fresh small jar beats a tired big one every time. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Nescafé Original Decaf: Choosing the Evening Jar

More from the tea wiki

• Nescafé: The Instant Coffee Benchmark
• Tea vs Coffee: Taste, Caffeine and Switching
• Caffeine in Tea
• Tea vs Coffee
• Tea for Coffee Drinkers: Where to Start
• Chai vs Coffee
• Best Instant Coffee UK
• Decaf Tea

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