You still get the benefits coming from the antioxidants found in coffee. Regarding the decaffeination process, all modern processes should be safe and not leave any harmful chemicals around.

I used to drink decaf, but I just missed the taste of an actual Arabica specialty coffee. Because the decaffeination process removes more than just the caffeine, even specialty decaf is not as good.

This doesn't answer your specific question, but I use a mix of decaf and full according to time of day.

So through the day it goes: full (morning), low caff (mix) (afternoon), decaf (evening).

No need for it to be either/or.

fwiw

I recently came across some interesting research by the US DoD into optimal caffeine consumption for alertness based on an algorithm they were developing. I can't quite recall the details, but you can find a web version of the tool here: https://2b-alert-web.bhsai.org/

Anyhow, as I recall (and I could be wrong), you actually want to start low and end high. Obviously decaf in the evening may still be good though, given you want to be able to sleep without detriment.

That's interesting, but considering the mainstream scientific position seems to be the opposite (though it's possible its more nuanced and I've misunderstood it), I will wait until that changes, though its always useful to read dissenting opinion.

Thanks! I also saw research where the optimum I think was drinking a cup of coffee in the early afternoon 30 minutes or so before a powernap. This beat (1) No coffee (2) straight coffee, no nap (3) nap, no coffee. I think it tested alertness in a driving game...

No worries, and great input - I'm a huge believer of coffee-naps, I used to go on about them to friends and family all the time but stopped having them lately. Thanks to your reminder, I'm going to get back on the wagon. Appreciate it!

I do same. First cup is regular. Then decaf rest of day.

For some reason, when I worked from home, I was getting a headache in the afternoon. All the time. Then one day I only got a chance to get my first cup of coffee. On that day, no headache. So upon further testing it turned out that I can only drink one regular cup when working from home. But on weekends or working from the office, this is not an issue. Only working from home.

Having a mix of decaf and regular grounds also makes it easy to slowly wean yourself off caffeine without destroying your productivity and mood. I have a spreadsheet to chart out how many grams of caffeinated/decaffeinated coffee grounds (and teabags) I'm allowing myself.

Over time, decrease the caf and increase the decaf.

I do this too when I need to reduce my caffeine intake. It allows me decouple the habit of drinking coffee from the addiction to coffee.

Last time I looked I couldn't find decaf that didn't have significant amounts of caffeine in it. The lowest amount of caffeine I could find was a product that said it had about half as much caffeine as regular coffee. Has that changed?

Decaf still has some caffeine, just less.

The Illy I have is below 0.1% Caffeine. I understand that normal coffee is at around 1.1 to 1.2%.

Depends on the brand. Decaf with 0% caffeine does exist.