I roasted the Indo Sumatra DECAF for a friend that needed to cut out the caffeine in her routine and didn't much more of it not being a decaf kind of coffee dude. WHAT a surprise, wow, this bean is just the best and now is my go to cupper as in I roast/drink it almost exclusively. It has a rich taste and somehow gives me that great coffee lift without the caffeine.

WHAT the heck? First off I am not a decaf drinker, I mean why bother if you don't get a buzz on, right? However, I have a friend that for medical reasons had to swear off the caffeine and since she is a fellow coffee lover I started looking for something I could roast for her and I settled on this bean.

My first impression when I got the shipment was that the bean was visibly darker than I had seen in other green beans. As I roasted it in my Ikawa it also seemed to be a bit heavier at the bean level which I took as being a bean with a higher water content. I am not an expert so that is just a minor observation but I did turn up my fan speed just a touch. So let's get to it, on my first round I roasted it medium-dark, then in my next back-to-back round, I adjusted a couple of parameters and roasted it a bit darker.

After three days of degassing, I brewed up my first cupper of the first roast in my AeroPress. Let's just say I was completely blown out of the water... This was SOOOO good I had a rare second cupper. The only reason I stopped at two was that I didn't want to get all jittered up. Well duh, it is a decaf, no jitters, jumpies, or vibrating as I sit and try to work. So the next day I pounded down two cuppers in a heartbeat, paused and walked a third back to my office. Again this bean is sooo good I didn't want to stop.

In conclusion, I now with grave regularity rotate this bean through my roasting cycle. So much so that it will be one of my rare repeat orders as I continue to explore other 'decaf' beans. So many beans, so little time...

As a coffee, this one's rather middle of the road. As a decaf, it's one of the better ones, although keep in mind, I don't usually roast or drink decafs, so this is based off of limited experience. I've had better Sumatra Decafs, but those aren't always available. Credit to Bodhi for maintaining a consistent supply, even if the quality isn't impressive. As for the bean itself, it requires a substantial roast to round out its flavors. You have both the peculiar flavor of Sumatra, and the typical grainy flavor of a decaf working against you. Light roasts (city-city+) come out incredibly grassy and astringent, while darker roasts (full-city - vienna) refine the grassiness into herbs, and bready flavors into malty aspects. As always, swiss process is deceptively dark in color, so make sure to pay attention more to the cracks, the smell and the texture of the bean when it is time to pull the roast.

I would post pictures if I was allowed. These were some of the worst green beans I have ever bought. This was the first time I used this company but thought I would give them a chance since the reviews were good. These beans were dirty, full of defects and were not screened well at all. There was also insect damage. I took one handful off the top of the bag and could easily pick out 20% defective beans. I did send pictures of these to the to the attention of representatives of the company and got nothing but excuses. I have been roasting beans for over five years and I know quality from not.

Excellent flavor notes! I roasted this at a medium roast, and it tastes wonderful. High quality decaf coffee!