How Much Decaf Coffee Should a Café Stock?

How to work out your decaf order

The sum is short: coffees a day × decaf share × grams per drink × trading days. For a café selling 200 coffees a day with one in ten ordered decaf, that is 200 × 10% × 18g × 7 days, which comes to 2.52kg a week.

The number that matters is the decaf share, and it belongs to your café rather than to an industry average. Read it from the till: decaf drinks sold last month, divided by all coffees sold. If decaf is not a separate button on the till, add one and count for a fortnight.

Coffees sold a day	1 in 20 decaf (5%)	1 in 10 decaf (10%)	3 in 20 decaf (15%)
100 coffees	0.6kg	1.3kg	1.9kg
200 coffees	1.3kg	2.5kg	3.8kg
300 coffees	1.9kg	3.8kg	5.7kg
400 coffees	2.5kg	5.0kg	7.6kg

Decaf used per week. Assumes an 18g double shot in every drink and seven trading days a week. The 5%, 10% and 15% columns are worked examples, not survey figures — use your own till data. If you serve 9g single shots, halve the figures; if you trade six days a week, take off a seventh.

1kg bags or a 6kg case of decaf?

In every example above, decaf is a small slice of what the house coffee gets through, so pack size needs more thought. Buy what you will finish within about a month, and open one bag at a time.

• Under about 1.5kg a week — 1kg bags, a few at a time. A 6kg case would take more than four weeks to finish.
• 1.5kg to 3kg a week — a 6kg case, which lasts two to four weeks at that rate.
• Over 3kg a week — a 12kg case from the wholesale decaf coffee range, or a 6kg case ordered more often.

Working: a month is taken as four weeks, so a 6kg case suits 6 ÷ 4 = 1.5kg a week or more, and a 12kg case suits 12 ÷ 4 = 3kg a week or more.

Redber roasts trade coffee to order in Guildford, so there is no need to hold months of decaf in the stockroom — how roasted to order works. Trade orders over £40 are delivered free, and decaf can go on the same order as the house coffee. See Delivery & Returns.

What does the coffee in a decaf drink cost?

Take the price, divide by the kilos, then multiply by your dose. On a £24.95 1kg bag, the coffee in an 18g double shot costs 44.9p. The £134.50 6kg case of the same blend works out at £22.42 a kilo, which brings the shot down to 40.4p.

The case saves £2.53 a kilo — worth having only if you will finish it within the month. Milk, cups and the machine sit on top of the coffee cost; put your own numbers through the cost-per-cup calculator to see the full figure.

Do you need a second grinder for decaf?

An espresso grinder holds one coffee at a time. Running decaf through the house grinder means emptying the hopper and purging the burrs for every decaf order, and whatever stays in the grinder ends up in the next drink. There are two cleaner ways to do it.

• A dedicated decaf grinder — the usual answer for espresso. It does not have to match the main grinder: in the table above, decaf is between a twentieth and about a seventh of the coffee going through the bar. Browse commercial coffee grinders.
• Ground decaf — if decaf is only served as filter coffee, decaf ground coffee does away with the grinder altogether. Check the grind suits your brewer before ordering.

Choosing a decaf your regulars will order again

A decaf customer is ordering the same flat white as everyone else, so start with a decaf close to your house espresso in roast level. If the house coffee is one of the espresso blends, look for a decaf in the same roast band.

The trade decaf range covers medium, medium-dark and dark roasts, as blends and single origins, decaffeinated by the Swiss Water, Mountain Water or CO₂ process. The method is named on each product.

Decaf for cafés FAQs

How much decaf coffee does a café use in a week?

Multiply the coffees you sell a day by your decaf share and your dose. At 200 coffees a day, one in ten decaf and an 18g double shot, that is about 2.5kg a week.

Should a café buy decaf in 1kg bags or a 6kg case?

Buy the size you will finish within about a month. Under about 1.5kg a week, 1kg bags are the better fit; above that, a 6kg case costs less per kilo.

Does a café need a separate grinder for decaf?

For espresso, a dedicated decaf grinder is the simplest way to keep decaf apart from the house coffee. If decaf is only served as filter coffee, ground decaf does away with the need for one.

How is Redber's trade decaf decaffeinated?

The range includes Swiss Water, Mountain Water and CO₂ process decafs. The method is named in each product's title or description, in the wholesale decaf coffee range.

Can we taste a decaf before placing a trade order?

Qualified businesses can request a free trade sample pack. Say in the request that you are choosing a decaf and which machine it will run through.