Haolo.
I shall cold brew my first bucket of bean water.
I’ve been lurking in this thread for a while and enjoying everyone’s posts and advice 
. Took a major step today…
Big boy grinder! Machine is next…
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Cold brew slaps! Ideal for this weather.
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Another good one, found at Target, is Intelligensia Black Cat. Its great for espresso and one of my all-time favs.
Seattle Coffee Gear at Alderwood also carries another fav of mine, Bear Hug from Dogwood Roasters out of Minnesota.
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Rabbit hole time!! I’ve seen your adventures in audio over the past couple years. You’re doomed.
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I was asking for some information from a La Marzocco educator and she also recommended trying out the Black Cat. Looks like I found my next bag to order
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Any decaf recommendations (my wife’s trying to avoid caffeine)?
So far our favorites are Olympia Asterisk and Onyx Geometry.
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Oooh - sign me up for these recs, too! I haven’t found an even half decent decaf bean. I try to go decaf if it’s past mid-afternoon.
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Tony’s Decaf Carmelita is alright, and locally made in Bellingham, WA. It’s pretty widely available in grocery stores in the seattle area. PCC also uses them for their house brand roaster.
I still havent really found a really good decaf bean, but my wife likes decaf every once in a while and I dont mind one if I am craving coffee later in the evening.
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I get the need for decaf for some people, but for me it’s kind of like non alcoholic beer: what’s the point! 
But coffee is my last vice, no more CH3CH2OH for me anyway…
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you can go to sleep with beer late at night, you cant with caffeine. 
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Actually I can. For whatever reason it takes a LOT of Caffeine to impact me. Can’t drink Alcohol at all however.
I just got a nice Bodum gooseneck kettle to use with my Hario V60.
Keep it simple.
Mark Gosdin
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Even just for pour-over, and not espresso, I haven’t found a decaf bean that varies vary much from just tasting like generic “coffee”. Flavor notes that are trivial to pull out of regular beans, with any of several brewers and recipes, all seem to vanish with decaf - regardless of the decaffeination method used.
I can make them swing anywhere from sour to bitter … but the fundamental flavor is still just “coffee”.
I’ve about to cancel my decaf subscription, as I’ve been through every bean they offer now, they’re starting to repeat, and none of them are something I’d buy again.
Now, they’re very good “generic coffee” … but I can get fundamentally the same experience without paying $2/oz and having to rest the beans etc.
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Every decaffeination processes uses chemicals, heat, and/or water to extract the caffeine. So, the coffee is pre-brewed before reaching consumers. Consumers have less quality to work with, per missing natural oils and flavors. Some years ago I heard that the best decaf starts with ultra-premium beans so that more quality can be retained. However, it still ends up mediocre.
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I hadn’t thought about it that way, but that does make perfect sense.
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The Swiss Water processes does NOT use chemicals, good beans, fresh water, time and temperature . Some awesome decaf, real Kona and most kona decaf from kona roasters are using a new form of decaffeination, the CO2 process, pretty much what plants do, but its new.
" the coffee is pre-brewed before reaching consumers" , what type of product are you noting here. Bottled coffee ?
I wrote “and/or water.”
Soaking beans in fresh water via the Swiss process is a type of cold brewing.
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Just make your own cold brew at home, just use a coarse grind. On my Baratza Encore we use # 22- #40 but we lean towards more of an extra coarse #30. Doing it yourself, at least you know where the water came from.
Even good old McDonalds uses 100% Arabica beans and the Swiss water process for its decaf with fresh B.C. Mountain water. Go figure. .
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Heck, I’d take “good generic coffee”. Any recs for that? Here’s what I’ve tried…
- Coffee Bean Direct CO2 Decaf Espresso - Not awful. Maybe meets the “good generic coffee” standard.
- Volcana Espresso Decaf Coffee, Whole Bean, Dark Roast, Swiss Water Processed - Similar
- Lavazza Dek Filtro - Tastes like gross, burnt coffee no matter what I do