Decaf Sumatra is just the best decaf I've ever found. It has more body and flavor than any other origin. This bean does not carry any certifications, but I do trust the importer and know that they work closely with the farmers in Sumatra and treat them well, because a significant amount of the importer's business is based on its reputation for Indonesian beans. This is the chemical reaction decaffeination process instead of water process; and since the process is much quicker than water-process, it ends up being quite a bit cheaper per pound. Taste-wise there isn't much difference. This one has slightly thinner body and is a little bit more boring than our water process decaf Sumatra, but it's still nice. Decaf Sumatra is generally cleaner tasting and sweeter than regular Sumatra. You take the bitter caffeine out of it, and it arguably improves the flavor! As you roast it, you'll notice that it starts cracking a little bit sooner than caffeinated Sumatra, but otherwise, treat it about the same. As a general rule, decaf does better in darker roasts, and Sumatra is naturally a good candidate for dark roasts, so that’s what I do with it — about 30 seconds into the second cracks.
