Savorista is a leading roaster in the modern decaf landscape. In fact, they were among the very first roasters we profiled when we launched. Caffeine consciousness is the name of the game for Savorista and their founder Kait Brown. Caffeine Conscious Coffee is the tagline of their name, after all.
We recently sat down with four of Savorista’s decaf offerings. After cupping each coffee, we’re excited to say that each of these roasts makes an excellent cup of decaf. The coffees we tasted range from a fruity medium roast, to a smoky espresso, to even a flavored coffee.
It’s impressive to see a roaster nailing so many corners of the coffee palette, and your personal favorite will most likely come down to your own roast preferences. Dive in with us as we run through four of our favorite decafs from Savorista!
Our Overall Winner
Burundi Blossom
Roaster:
Savorista
Roast:
Medium
Origin:
Kirundo, Burundi (single origin)
Decaffeination Method:
Swiss Water Process
Taste:
Pear, Brown Sugar, Grapefruit
Burundi Blossom is our overall favorite from this crop of decafs. It’s a medium roast that presents as fairly light, with a peppery, herbaceous aroma. It offers complex, juicy notes of stone fruit and citrus, finished with a sweetness that brings to mind brown sugar or dark caramel. It offers a piquant acidity that will perk your tastebuds right up, without ever going overboard.
If you like medium or light roasts, this coffee will be a slam dunk. Even if you prefer darker coffees, it’s hard to imagine anyone disliking these beans. It’s also great to have another single-origin decaf available!
A Complex Dark Roast
Total Eclipse
Roaster:
Savorista
Roast:
Dark Roast
Origin:
Columbia and Brazil (blend)
Decaffeination Method:
Swiss Water Process
Taste:
Pecan, Dark Chocolate, Cream
Fans of dark roasts are in for a treat with this rich, deep roast. Total Eclipse offers all the dark chocolate notes of a great dark roast, but it also offers a smoothness that many darkly roasted coffees lack. It contains plenty of cream notes, both in its flavor and in its rich mouthfeel. Befitting its roast, Total Eclipse is mildly acidic. Its nutty, chocolatey flavor makes this a perfect evening cup.
An Espresso to Impresso
Yesso Espresso
Roaster:
Savorista
Roast:
Espresso
Origin:
South America + East Africa (blend)
Decaffeination Method:
Swiss Water Process and Sugarcane
Ethyl-Acetate
Taste:
Dried Cherry, Molasses, Clove
Do you regularly steam your own milk and make lattes at home? If so, this is a fantastic espresso for you! Yesso Espresso’s rich, intense flavor means it can easily punch through dairy. It’s also wonderful when sipped on its own, offering a lovely mix of darkly-sweet molasses and brighter fruit tones. It offers an appropriately full mouthfeel. Since cupping, I’ve even used this espresso in cooking applications, and it has performed excellently. If you’re looking for a versatile espresso that won’t give you the caffeine jitters, look no further.
A Unique Flavored Cup
Minted Mocha
Roaster:
Savorista
Roast:
Medium
Origin:
Brazil (blend)
Decaffeination Method:
Swiss Water Process
Taste:
Fresh Mint, Milk Chocolate, Praline
Something we don’t see often in the specialty coffee world? Flavored coffee. Something we don’t see often in any coffee world? Good flavored coffee.
Savorist’as Minted Mocha, however, stands out for its balanced flavor. As the name implies, it punches a serious mix of mint and chocolate tones. Where other flavored coffees can taste syrupy or overbearing, this one always presents fresh mint and never lets any one note overpower another. It simultaneously brought me back to drinking flavored coffee at Wawa when I was teenager, and met my marks for a great cup of coffee period.
Savorista provided us with some insight into what drove them to explore flavored coffees (this is their first flavored roast.) After customers asked them about adding flavored coffee, the Savorista team decided the holidays were a perfect time to experiment.
“We started with a Swiss Water decaf coffee from the Cerrado region of Brazil, and tested a variety of flavors with it,” the roaster informed us. “The one that stood out to us was the minted mocha, as it had smooth mint and chocolate flavors without overpowering the already delicious coffee beans.” We’re excited to see what other flavors they explore in the future!
