Pelican Rouge dark roast Whole Bean Decaf Coffee Blend, 1 kg

We've been having Amazon happy belly decaf beans since we got our bean to cup machine last September. I always felt they were a bit bland tasting and needed to use the dopio+ option to get a decent flavoured coffee. We then tried some beans from a local place at Christmas but they were undrinkable due to being overwhelmingly smoky (tasted like drinking campfire smoke!) We've also tried the lavazza dek decaf beans. They were okay, but not anywhere near as nice as these. Our absolute favourite bean so far. Medium strength, full of flavour, smooth and silky, a touch of smokiness but nothing overwhelming. And the price is decent to, especially on a subscription.

I brewed this Americano coffee from freshly ground beans in a domestic De Longhi 2 bar espresso machine. It has a nice thick velvety crema and a deep colour. I first tasted this alongside a more expensive non-decaff coffee and the Pelican Rouge had a slightly more sour flavour and less lingering finish. However, after the second cup you don't notice this unless you're a connoisseur or drinking a comparison brew at the same time. The decaff tastes like, well, coffee. If you like a dark roast then this will be a great "go to" daily bean. If you put milk or syrup/sugar in your coffee then this has the robustness to support that kind of misdemeanour (;-). As an espresso or Americano it has a good "hit", good texture, and the finish is long enough to satisfy, albeit not as long as the good stuff which is 4 times the price. I usually grind just before the brew but coffee made from beans ground 2-3 days before brewing (and kept in a sealed container) is almost as good as the fresh stuff...so the roasting process has kept the oils ready for late release. It comes in a 1Kg bag so I've decanted some into a vacu-jar and put some in sealed containers in the freezer, time will tell if it stays good. It's great value for money, cuts down your caffeine, and is indiscernible from the everyday caffeine-loaded stuff, at least for my average taste buds.... Only gripe is the bag says "best before" rather than "roasted on". The long shelf life of 2 years from now seems a tad at odds with other beans I've had saying "use within 6 months".

I used to buy Amazon brand decaf beans but they were discontinued so had to look for an alternative. These beans are a little more expensive but still far cheaper than supermarkets and they taste lovely. Nice and strong, despite being decaf - no one I’ve given a cup to can tell they’re not full caffeine! I will continue to buy these beans - half the price of other brands and far tastier.

Having drunk lots of different decafs and being disappointed by a lot our go to brand has been Lavazza. The espresso ground Lavazza went unavailable on Amazon I was worried it wouldn’t come on my subscribe and save order, so I added this bag just to be on safe side. I have previously had Lavazza decaf beans and had issues using them ground to espresso grind in our Delonghi Espresso. No issues with with these beans, created a lovely espresso and the flavour is very nice, I couldn’t have told you it was decaf! We will be buying these beans again.

I wanted to stop drinking regular coffee, as it was affecting my energy levels and giving me that unpleasant buzz, so I bought a kilo of these beans. I use them in a pump espresso machine at home to make espressos. I can't really tell the difference when it comes to the taste, but I notice that the buzz is gone and my energy levels are no longer affected. One of my clients works for a major coffee machine maker and advised me that I should try the Swiss water decaf coffee instead, so she sent me four bags from different roasters (all more expensive brands). I tried three of them and all three gave me that unpleasant buzz, so I came back to these Pelican Rouge beans and I haven't looked back. Obviously, everyone has a different pallet, but just to give you context I tend to go for South American medium roast beans. My favourite high street coffee shop is Caffe Nero. I thoroughly recommend Pelican Rouge to anyone with similar tastes.

Decent coffee at a good price, not sure this is anything to rave about but if you have a mild caffeine sensitivity as I do, choice is limited, there are better options but you’re looking at an additional nearly £10 per bag which soon adds up. This is by no means bad coffee and we generally enjoy it, it is a constant in our Jura machine and delivers good consistency and nice flavour (can sometimes be on the more bitter side). Generally I would say this coffee reflects excellent everyday value in the decaf genre and the service so far has been great. I’ve signed up to a regular subscription so will be sticking with this for the foreseeable.

If, like me you love coffee but find that the caffeine has an adverse effect on your blood pressure if you drink a bit too much then, inevitably turning to decaff is the only way forward. Now, I've tried many blends and brands and by and large they are all fine. Most decaff coffee's fall into the 'middling' category of flavour and strength neither good nor bad. What you might consider a bog basic flavoured bean. This is not widely different from that standard overall. But, that's not a bad thing either. As a decaff it tastes better than many full fat coffee roasts without the downside of - for me anyway - eye popping blood pressure effects. Now, while I say it's not too far from the average it's better than many decaff's I've had. If one was to look at the bell curve of coffees this would be just past the middle peak and towards the better end of the scale before one hits the epic superb coffees. It's not Swiss Water so uses a solvent to decaffeinate the beans. This isn't actually as drastic as it sounds as the 'solvent' is natural solvent and post roasting simply cannot remain in the bean. I've found that by and large the more traditional decaffeinating methods produce better flavours than the Swiss water technique. Value is very good for this size of bag. Overall very happy with my purchase.

I guess everyone’s palate is different and as such what you want from your coffee. For us this didn’t deliver in the complexity of flavour we were hoping for. This is always a challenge with decaf’ as, although the decaf’ process is not supposed to affect flavour, in general the depth of taste can be lacking. This had a good first sip and you could taste the rich dark slightly bitter roast but, we both felt, there wasn’t really much more. That said it’s very drinkable and a good price.