The Best Half Caff Coffee

With half the beans decaffeinated, a mild blend tastes thin; a dark roast keeps its weight. That's why my pick is Allegro Half Caff, the winner of Tasting Table's blind ranking of nine half caffs: smoky, full-bodied, with a sweet hint of blueberry and a smoky finish. It's a French roast, so it tastes like a real dark coffee, and the decaf half of the blend is Latin American beans decaffeinated with the Swiss Water Process, water only. About $11 for 12 ounces of ground coffee.

If you like your coffee lighter, Green Mountain came second: balanced, clean and barely bitter, and it also comes in K-Cups. Maud's came third, with a smooth, syrupy chocolate-and-caramel cup. Every one of these has roughly half the caffeine of a regular mug, about as much as a cup of black tea.

See the 6 picks

Top picks

Best overallAllegro Coffee Half Caff French Roast

The winner of Tasting Table's blind ranking of nine half caffs, smoky and full-bodied with a hint of blueberry, and the decaf half is Swiss Water.

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Best medium roastGreen Mountain Half-Caff

Second at Tasting Table, balanced and clean with very little bitterness, and the same half caff comes in K-Cups.

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Smoothest cupMaud's Half Caff Medium Roast

Third at Tasting Table, chocolaty with a syrupy caramel sweetness and a very smooth body, in a big 20-ounce bag.

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Best valueCommunity Coffee Café Special Half-Caff

A nutty medium-dark roast with caramel and cocoa, the cheapest of the top five at Tasting Table, about 88 cents an ounce.

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Best whole beanVolcanica Half Caff

Whole beans, half regular and half Swiss Water decaf from the same house blend, sweet and bold with a full body.

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Best big canChock full o'Nuts Heavenly Original Half Caffeine

A chocolaty medium roast in a 24-ounce steel can, about 75 cents an ounce, the cheapest here by the ounce.

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At a glance

1. 1.Allegro Coffee Half Caff French Roastabout $11

   Best for

   Bold and smoky

   Roast

   French (dark)

   Tastes like

   Smoke, blueberry, wood

   Per ounce

   About 96 cents (12 oz)

2. 2.Green Mountain Half-Caffabout $12

   Best for

   Mellow, light, K-Cups too

   Roast

   Medium

   Tastes like

   Caramel, nutty chocolate

   Per ounce

   About $1 (12 oz)

3. 3.Maud's Half Caff Medium Roastabout $20

   Best for

   Smooth and chocolaty

   Roast

   Medium (decaf and dark blend)

   Tastes like

   Chocolate, berries, caramel

   Per ounce

   About $1 (20 oz)

4. 4.Community Coffee Café Special Half-Caffabout $11

   Best for

   Nutty, with milk

   Roast

   Medium-dark

   Tastes like

   Almond, caramel, cocoa

   Per ounce

   About 88 cents (12 oz)

5. 5.Volcanica Half Caffabout $27

   Best for

   Grinding fresh, Swiss Water

   Roast

   Medium

   Tastes like

   Sweet, bold, full

   Per ounce

   About $1.69 (16 oz)

6. 6.Chock full o'Nuts Heavenly Original Half Caffeineabout $18

   Best for

   Lowest price per ounce

   Roast

   Medium

   Tastes like

   Chocolate, a little floral

   Per ounce

   About 75 cents (24 oz)

#	half caff	Best for	Roast	Tastes like	Per ounce	About
1	1.Allegro Coffee Half Caff French Roast	Bold and smoky	French (dark)	Smoke, blueberry, wood	About 96 cents (12 oz)	$11
2	2.Green Mountain Half-Caff	Mellow, light, K-Cups too	Medium	Caramel, nutty chocolate	About $1 (12 oz)	$12
3	3.Maud's Half Caff Medium Roast	Smooth and chocolaty	Medium (decaf and dark blend)	Chocolate, berries, caramel	About $1 (20 oz)	$20
4	4.Community Coffee Café Special Half-Caff	Nutty, with milk	Medium-dark	Almond, caramel, cocoa	About 88 cents (12 oz)	$11
5	5.Volcanica Half Caff	Grinding fresh, Swiss Water	Medium	Sweet, bold, full	About $1.69 (16 oz)	$27
6	6.Chock full o'Nuts Heavenly Original Half Caffeine	Lowest price per ounce	Medium	Chocolate, a little floral	About 75 cents (24 oz)	$18

The best half caffeine coffees, ranked

11 · Best overall

Allegro Coffee Half Caff French Roast

The winner of Tasting Table's blind ranking of nine half caffs, smoky and full-bodied with a hint of blueberry, and the decaf half is Swiss Water.

$11.49

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Buy it if

You like a dark, smoky cup and want your morning coffee to taste the same with half the caffeine.

Skip it if

You prefer light, bright coffee. A French roast is bold by design.

The best tasting half caff

Allegro is the coffee you find at Whole Foods, and this is its French roast with half the beans decaffeinated. The blend uses Latin American beans, and the decaf half goes through the Swiss Water Process in Vancouver, so no chemical solvent touches it. In the cup it's sweet, woodsy and full-bodied, with smoke and blueberry notes, and it edged out Green Mountain on the strength of its flavor.

I'd drink this one black, and it has the body to stand up to milk. It's about $11 for 12 ounces.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• Ground only on Amazon, no whole beans.
• Too dark and smoky for anyone who likes a light roast.

Dark French roastLatin American beansSwiss Water decaf halfGround

2

Best medium roast

Green Mountain Half-Caff

Second at Tasting Table, balanced and clean with very little bitterness, and the same half caff comes in K-Cups.

$11.99Check price on Amazon

Buy it if

You want a mellow, easy medium roast for any time of day, from a drip machine or a Keurig.

Skip it if

You want a strong, heavy cup. A couple of buyers find it weak.

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A mellow half caff, in a bag or in K-Cups

Green Mountain's Half-Caff is a medium roast with sweet caramel and nutty chocolate notes, and The Manual calls it mellow and nutty. Tasting Table found it gracefully balanced, light and refreshing, with a clean finish and very little bitterness, and named it a good pick for summer. It's the least bitter of the six.

Fluent in Coffee calls it the best half caff for a Keurig: the same coffee comes in K-Cups, in boxes of 32 to 96. If you'd rather go all the way to decaf in your Keurig, here's the decaf K-Cup I'd pick. The ground bag runs about $12 for 12 ounces.

What owners report

Only a handful of buyers have written about it. One who expected a medium roast to be bitter found it smooth. Two found it weak, one of them after buying it for years and noticing a recent batch tasted thinner.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• Light enough to taste thin in a big mug.
• One longtime buyer found a recent batch thinner.

Medium roastGround or K-CupsKosherLittle bitterness

3

Smoothest cup

Maud's Half Caff Medium Roast

Third at Tasting Table, chocolaty with a syrupy caramel sweetness and a very smooth body, in a big 20-ounce bag.

$19.99Check price on Amazon

Buy it if

You want a smooth, slightly sweet cup and you go through coffee fast enough for a 20-ounce bag.

Skip it if

You like bold, punchy flavors. This is the gentle one.

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Smooth, with chocolate and caramel

Maud's builds its half caff from two of its own coffees: Mellow Mood, its decaf medium roast, and Tall Dark & Handsome, its dark roast. It's 100% Arabica, and Maud's sells it as low acid. Tasting Table placed it third, picking up chocolate, wild berries and a forest note, a very smooth texture and a syrupy caramel flavor. Its only complaint: the flavors could be bolder.

It's good black or with cream. At about $20 for 20 ounces, it's about $1 an ounce, and Maud's also sells the same half caff in single-serve pods for a Keurig.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• Milder than Allegro, for anyone who wants a strong cup.
• The big bag goes stale if you brew one cup a day.

100% ArabicaDecaf and dark roast blendSold as low acidGround or pods

4

Best value

Community Coffee Café Special Half-Caff

A nutty medium-dark roast with caramel and cocoa, the cheapest of the top five at Tasting Table, about 88 cents an ounce.

$10.49Check price on Amazon

Buy it if

You drink your coffee with milk and want a nutty, full cup for less money.

Skip it if

You drink it black and notice a drying finish. Tasting Table found it a little astringent.

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A nutty half caff for every morning

Café Special is Community Coffee's house blend, here with half the caffeine. It's a medium-dark roast of 100% Arabica with a full body; Community lists nutty notes with touches of caramel and cocoa. Tasting Table tasted warm, nutty notes of almond and macadamia and a fairly syrupy body, and called it a fine everyday coffee, fifth of nine.

Community suggests 2 heaping tablespoons for every 6 ounces of water. At about $11 for 12 ounces, or less in the 32-ounce bag, it's the cheapest of the top five.

What owners report

Many owners call it smooth and full of flavor, and several say it tastes like their regular full-caffeine coffee. Three point out that it isn't bitter. A couple still feel enough of a kick to wake up on it. One wishes it came in K-Cups, and another can't find it in local stores anymore.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• A slightly drying finish when you drink it black.
• One owner can't find it in stores anymore.

Medium-dark roast100% ArabicaFull body12 or 32 oz

5

Best whole bean

Volcanica Half Caff

Whole beans, half regular and half Swiss Water decaf from the same house blend, sweet and bold with a full body.

$26.99Check price on Amazon

Buy it if

You grind your own beans and want both halves of the blend to come from the same coffee, with Swiss Water decaf.

Skip it if

You're watching the price. It's close to twice the cost per ounce of the others.

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The best whole bean half caff

Volcanica mixes its House Blend half and half: regular beans and the same blend decaffeinated with the Swiss Water Process. Volcanica roasts it medium and describes it as sweet yet bold, with a full, rich body.

It comes in whole beans and in a ground version at the same price. At about $27 for 16 ounces, you pay about $1.69 an ounce.

What owners report

Only three buyers have written about it. One called it the best half caf they'd tried. One found it pricey, and one found it too weak.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• The most expensive bag here by far.
• One buyer found it weak.

Whole bean or groundSwiss Water decaf halfMedium roastKosher

6

Best big can

Chock full o'Nuts Heavenly Original Half Caffeine

A chocolaty medium roast in a 24-ounce steel can, about 75 cents an ounce, the cheapest here by the ounce.

$17.99Check price on Amazon

Buy it if

You make a full pot every day and want the lowest price per ounce.

Skip it if

You want a bag with real character. It's a plain, everyday medium roast.

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A big can for the daily pot

Chock full o'Nuts sells its coffee in steel cans, and its Heavenly Original comes in a half-caffeine version. It's a medium roast, kosher, ground for drip, pour-over or a percolator. Tasting Table found it mostly chocolaty, with floral hints and a bright aftertaste, and one of the better picks if you buy in bulk on a budget.

The 24-ounce can costs about $18, or 75 cents an ounce, the cheapest here.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• Simpler flavor than the top three.
• The big can is a lot of coffee for one person.

Medium roast24 oz steel canKosherDrip or percolator

Who half caff is for

Half caff is for the person who loves the taste of coffee, and maybe the second cup, but not what the caffeine does after it. A cup of regular brewed coffee has about 95 mg of caffeine for 8 ounces, by the USDA's figure. Mix half regular and half decaf and you land near 50 mg, about the same as a cup of black tea.

If you want almost none, go to decaf: here's how Swiss Water decaf is made, and my decaf espresso beans for shots and lattes. For about half the caffeine in an instant cup, there's mushroom coffee, and for a regular bag to blend with decaf yourself, the best coffee beans.

How to choose

What I'd skip

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