Which Decaf Tastes Best? Swiss Water vs Sugarcane EA

“Which type of decaf tastes best?” is one of the questions we’re asked most often. It’s difficult to answer as we almost never get to taste the same coffee decaffeinated in different ways. Two decafs on a shelf will usually differ in origin, variety, processing as well as decaffeination method, so it’s impossible to know which difference you’re tasting.

That’s what made the Decaf Project, run by James Hoffmann and Caravela Coffee in 2024, so useful. They took one coffee, divided it into 4 lots, and sent 3 parts off for decaffeination via different methods. They then re-united the coffee and sold it as kits with the regular coffee and 3 decaf versions. This was a unique opportunity to get a direct comparison of different decaffeination methods.

In this guide we look at two common decaffeination methods, what the processes do to a coffee at a chemical level, and what we tend to find when we taste these coffees.

How is coffee decaffeinated?

All decaffeination happens to raw, green coffee, before roasting. It takes large, specialist equipment, so it’s done at a small number of dedicated facilities around the world rather than by individual roasters.

Two of the most common methods for specialty coffee are the Sugarcane Ethyle Acetate (EA) method and the Swiss Water Process.

Sugarcane Ethyl Acetate (EA)
The green coffee is steamed to open its structure, then soaked in a solution of ethyl acetate, a compound found naturally in fruit. In the specialty world the ethyl acetate is usually derived from fermented sugarcane, hence the name. The ethyl acetate acts as a solvent, binds to the caffeine and draws it out, and a final steam of the coffee removes any remaining solvent. The coffee is then dried and bagged ready for shipping.

This method is particularly common for Colombian coffee thanks to the locally based Descafecol decaffeination facility. 

Swiss Water Process
This method uses no solvents at all. The green coffee is first hydrated, causing the beans to swell and open up ready for decaffeination. The coffee is then soaked in a “green coffee extract” - water already saturated with everything soluble in coffee except caffeine. Because the extract is already full of flavour compounds, mostly caffeine migrates out of the beans. The caffeine is then filtered from the extract with activated carbon so the extract can be reused. The coffee is finally dried and bagged ready for shipping.

Swiss Water are based in Canada - this is a surprise to many given the name, but it was the theory behind the method that was first developed in Switzerland.

What does decaffeination do to a coffee?

The aim of decaffeination is to remove caffeine and nothing else. In practice, decaffeination impacts more than just caffeine.

Two groups of compounds that matter the most for coffee flavour, Chlorogenic acids and Trigonelline are impacted by decaffeination processes. Chlorogenic acids contribute to a coffee’s bitterness, acidity and aroma. Trigonelline plays a role in forming many of the aroma compounds that develop during roasting. Both can be partly removed during decaffeination, depending on the method and how it’s carried out. 

Aroma changes too. Research suggests the aroma of regular coffee is dominated by pyrazine-derived compounds, while decaf tends to lean toward furan-derived compounds. The significance of this shift is that pyrazines help carry and amplify lighter, more volatile scents. Without that chemical foundation, those delicate elements can easily dissipate. That chemistry matches something we notice regularly at the roastery: the fruity aromas of freshly ground coffee can be a little quieter in decaf because it lacks the necessary compounds to fully lift those fruit notes.

Each decaffeination method involves chemical trade-offs. Water-based methods like the Swiss Water Process avoid chemical solvents entirely; they use a pre-saturated green coffee extract to create an equilibrium that holds carbohydrates and flavour compounds inside the bean while drawing out only the caffeine. Solvent methods like sugarcane ethyl acetate can offer economic efficiency at origin, though the solvent can act to deplete important flavour precursors like chlorogenic acids. Across all methods, operational conditions are just as critical as the method itself: It has been demonstrated that higher temperatures and longer extraction times accelerate the loss of these vital compounds, directly leading to lower overall aroma and flavour scores.

In other words, “Swiss Water” or “Sugarcane EA” on a bag tells you something useful, but the care taken at the decaffeination plant, and of course the quality of the green coffee sent there in the first place, matter just as much as the method.

The Decaf Project: one coffee, four ways

In 2024, James Hoffmann and green coffee importer Caravela Coffee organised the Decaf Project. A single lot of coffee from La Virgen in Huila, Colombia, was split four ways: one part stayed as the original caffeinated coffee, and the other three were decaffeinated using the CO₂, Sugarcane EA and the Swiss Water Methods.

We secured a small allocation and roasted all four to a comparable medium roast, keeping the profiles as close as possible so that any differences in the cup came from the decaffeination rather than the roasting. The EA and CO₂ lots arrived with slightly higher moisture, so they needed a little more energy to develop evenly, but the roasts otherwise stayed very similar.

We then tasted them side by side using cupping, a simple, standardised tasting method that removes brewing technique as a variable. 

Our cupping notes for these coffees were:

Original coffee
Body: medium · Acidity: medium
Stone fruit, berries, unripe plum, tomato, sweet

Sugarcane EA decaf
Body: medium–full · Acidity: medium-high
Apricot, citrus, malty, sweet

Swiss Water decaf
Body: medium · Acidity: medium
Stone fruit, berries, malty, sweet

CO₂ decaf
Body: full, silky · Acidity: medium
Stone fruit, tomato, sweet, jammy

All three decafs remained recognisably the same coffee, and all three were coffees we’d happily sell. Every decaf had a slightly muted fresh-ground aroma compared with the original, as the chemistry would predict.

Swiss Water vs Sugarcane EA: what we found

Sugarcane EA gave us the most lively decaf with brighter acidity and a heavier body. It changed the original coffee’s character the most, but in a direction many specialty drinkers enjoy.

Swiss Water stayed closest to the original in balance - a moderate body, softer acidity and the same stone fruit and berry notes, with a gentle malty sweetness.

CO₂, the outsider, produced the fullest, silkiest body of all. It’s rarer in the UK, but one to look out for.

These findings hold up beyond a single tasting. They’re consistent with what we’ve seen across the many decafs we’ve roasted since.

How to choose the best decaf for you

Since there’s no universal “best”, the more useful question is what you enjoy in the cup.

Choose Sugarcane EA if you like bright, fruity, expressive coffee with a fuller body. EA decafs suit filter brewing and anyone who wants their decaf to taste like a lively specialty single origin. Our DECAF COLOMBIA Zarza is a Sugarcane EA decaf with floral, fruit-forward character.

Choose Swiss Water if you prefer a balanced, smooth and approachable cup with softer acidity. Swiss Water decafs work particularly well in cafetiere, stovetop and espresso, and with milk. Our DECAF PERU Las Damas is a Swiss Water decaf from a women-led group within a Peruvian cooperative.

Either way, look beyond the method. Origin, processing and roast still shape a decaf as much as they shape any coffee. All of our decaf's are carefully sourced and roasted - and all the decaffeination methods we work with can produce a great coffee. 

You can explore both Swiss Water and Sugarcane EA decaf's in our decaf coffee collection.

Summary

So which type of decaf tastes best? The one that suits your palate!

Decaffeination does change a coffee. It removes some of the compounds that shape acidity, bitterness and aroma alongside the caffeine. In our experience, Sugarcane EA decafs produce a brighter, fuller decaf, while Swiss Water decafs stayed balanced and smooth. 

References

Shofinita, D., Lestari, D., Purwadi, R., Sumampouw, G.A., Gunawan, K.C., Ambarwati, S.A., Achmadi, A.B. and Tjahjadi, J.T. (2024) ‘Effects of different decaffeination methods on caffeine contents, physicochemical, and sensory properties of coffee’, International Journal of Food Engineering, 20(8), pp. 561–581. doi: 10.1515/ijfe-2024-0013.