Once-lowly decaf gets a jolt thanks to premium roasts and wellness boom

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Once-lowly decaf gets a jolt thanks to premium roasts and wellness boom

Published: 12 Dec. 2025, 07:00 Updated: 01 Jan. 2026, 13:00

WOO JI-WON
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A barista at a cafe in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, brews decaf using the hand-drip method. [WOO JI-WON]

A cafe in Seoul's bustling Gangnam area was offering several specialty hand-drip coffees, with names like White Christmas, Las Moras Sidra and Floral Pink. Right along with them was a special decaf.

Yes, decaf. Once treated largely as a disappointingly-flavored substitute for regular coffee, it is now gaining a place among the limited hand-drip lineup at cafes — a space usually reserved for carefully-sourced, flavor-driven beans. That's because many decaf coffees are now selected and brewed with the same care and attention as any specialty bean.

“Hand-drip decaf orders come in just as often as our other hand-drip specialties,” a barista said, while finishing the final drip for a decaf brew full of bright acidity.

Decaf is moving into the mainstream in Korea's highly-competitive coffee market. Starbucks Korea reported last month that sales of decaffeinated beverages through October this year reached 36.5 million orders, up 35 percent from the same period last year. One in every eight Americanos sold there was decaf. Even low-cost cafe chain Mega MGC Coffee said it poured 7.5 million cups of decaf during the first half of this year, a roughly 70-percent jump from a year earlier.

Decaffeinated coffee beans seen at a booth during the Seoul International Cafe Show on Nov. 11. [WOO JI-WON]

The growing demand for decaffeinated coffee in Korea reflects a global shift toward health-conscious consumption, but the pace of growth here is particularly notable. Korea's decaf market is projected to expand at an average annual rate of 8.2 percent between 2024 and 2032, outpacing the global average of 7.1 percent during the same period, according to market tracker Inkwood Research.

And the shift is easy to spot. What was once a quiet request at the counter is now easy to find in cafes of all kinds — with more options for beans with distinctive flavor profiles available, as well as inventive products emerging in step with the broader wellness culture.

Decaf takes the stage

At this year's Seoul International Cafe Show, where 3,903 brands from 631 companies across 35 countries participated, decaf quietly claimed the spotlight.

“Decaffeinated blend is the second most popular blend from our store,” said Chae Soo-min, a staffer at Hitch Coffee booth, as he handed out samples of its Colombia and Brazilian decaf blends during the exhibition.

Decaffeinated coffee beans displayed at Cobeans during the Seoul International Cafe Show on Nov. 11. [WOO JI-WON]

Wandering between booths, specialty decaf appeared in every shade of flavor — a roast with citrus, caramel and cocoa; another vivid with orange notes; while another one had nutty and smooth tones. Saroksu Coffee poured an Ethiopian decaf with acacia honey, citron and roasted chestnut.

Many cafe owners — and aspiring ones — attended the event in search of distinctive decaf beans to serve in their cafes, a shift from the days when decaf meant just one or two generic options.

“The supply of specialty decaf is limited,” said a staffer at one booth selling decaf beans. “Specialty coffee beans with their own distinctive profiles are decaffeinated in small batches. Even after the process, those subtle original flavors still remain.”

Decaf Korea displays their products at this year's Seoul International Cafe Show on Nov. 11. [WOO JI-WON]

Some exhibitors focused exclusively on decaf. Beanspacecoffee, which manufactures and distributes only decaffeinated beans, showcased newly released single-pack ground decaf. The packets, CEO Cho Min-ki said at the booth, were created to help small cafes avoid buying an extra grinder just for decaf beans.

“For a regular coffee shop to sell decaffeinated coffee, it needs a grinder just for decaf, because you cannot put decaf beans in, take them all out and then put caffeinated beans back in,” said Cho. “But buying a grinder that costs one or two million won is burdensome. So I came up with packet-style decaf that shops can use without a grinder.”

Cho has also been selling regular decaf beans for three years, and demand, Cho said, has been ballooning. “Our import volume has grown eightfold from three years ago,” Cho said. Mega Coffee is among its largest buyers. “Many companies are currently reaching out to us.”

Coffee beans typically undergo either the Swiss Water Process or the Sugarcane Process to become decaffeinated, but rising demand for decaf has led to the emergence of some creative approaches, such as lowering caffeine levels in the beans through a germination process.

Decaf Coffee Lab's coffee [DECAF COFFEE LAB]

There is even a roastery dedicated exclusively to decaf beans. “Depending on the coffee bean variety, the origin and how it is roasted, the nuances can vary greatly,” said Lim Gildo, CEO of the decaf-only roastery Deca Coffee Lab. He added market base has expanded over the years from cafes to obstetrics and gynecology clinics, as well as aesthetic facilities.

New techniques are appearing, too. Some producers add aromatic ingredients — spices like cinnamon or cardamom, or vanilla extract — during roasting to create more flavored coffee, called flavored or infused decaf. “For people who enjoy flavored coffee, that’s good,” Im said. “But for coffee enthusiasts, it tends not to be preferred because it masks the original qualities of the coffee.”

The rapid growth of the decaffeinated coffee market is closely tied to changing consumer lifestyles that prioritize well-being. That emphasis in Korea has even led to the emergence of a new product category that sits between coffee and health supplements.

SleePresso [SLEEPING BOTTLE]

One example is Sleeping Bottle, which recently launched a product called SleePresso, marketed as “sleep coffee.” It combines decaffeinated cold brew with plant-based ingredients, including barley malt, which is believed to help induce sleep.

“Many people can't drink coffee at night,” said an official from Sleeping Bottle. “So we invented the product for people who want to drink coffee late at night and people sensitive to caffeine can enjoy it comfortably.”

0.1% mandates

Yet growth has brought scrutiny. Korea's criteria for labeling decaf have been called too loose, prompting the government to tighten them. Currently, coffee with more than 90 percent of its caffeine removed can be labeled decaf, but remaining caffeine levels vary widely.

For example, per 500 milliliters, Mammoth Coffee’s decaf contains 1.9 milligrams of residual caffeine, Mega Coffee’s has 7.6 milligrams, Compose Coffee’s has 10.2 milligrams and Starbucks has 14.1 milligrams. These varying levels aroused some complaints from consumers, including reports of heart palpitations, sleep disturbances and other side effects.

An official from the Busan Consumer Organizations Council explains the test results and consumer perception survey regarding the safety, labeling and caffeine content of 15 decaffeinated capsule coffee products sold on the market on March 6. [NEWS1]

In November, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced it would establish clearer standards. Beginning next March, only coffee with less than 0.1 percent residual caffeine after removal may be labeled decaffeinated.

Many companies, however, said they already meet that threshold. Bean Space said, “Ours contains only 0.014 percent,” while a Sleeping Bottle official said based on beans alone, “99.9 percent of caffeine is already removed, and for the finished product — which includes water — the level is even lower.”

Deca Coffee Lab — whose products already have 99.9 percent of their caffeine removed — welcomed the change.

“The current European standard required that more than 99 percent of caffeine be removed to classify a product as decaf, but Korea's standards were looser at 90 percent,” said Deca Coffee Lab's Im. “People who drink decaf usually do so because they are very sensitive to caffeine and want to avoid it, but under Korea's previous rules, it was difficult to avoid caffeine completely even when ordering decaf. So I think it's a good thing that the standard has been raised to match international norms.”

BY WOO JI-WON [[email protected]]

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Once-lowly decaf gets a jolt thanks to premium roasts and wellness boom

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