Illy decaffeinated coffee uses supercritical CO2 extraction to bring caffeine under 0.1% on the same 100% Arabica Classico blend illy sells caffeinated. Roughly a tenth of the caffeine of the regular illy shot at approximately 60mg, with most of the caramel, chocolate and floral character intact.
If you have walked the coffee aisle in a UK supermarket and reached past the own brand decafs to the silver and red tin, this is what you were buying. Premium Italian mass market decaf, widely stocked, reliably consistent, processed by one of the cleaner industrial methods on the market.
What is illy decaf coffee
Illy is a premium Italian roaster founded in Trieste in 1933, built around a 100% Arabica Classico blend of nine origins. The decaf range applies CO2 decaffeination to that same blend and keeps the signature flavour profile mostly intact. Sold in the UK as ground tins, whole beans, Nespresso compatible capsules, iperEspresso capsules, ESE pods and instant. Available across Tesco, Waitrose, Ocado, Amazon and direct on Subscribe & Save.
The illy decaf range: formats available in the UK
Four core categories across seven SKUs. Prices below are the illy.com direct list, June 2026. Supermarket prices vary by promotion.
| Format | Product | Size | Price (illy direct) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ground | Classico Decaf | 125g tin | £4.49 | Espresso, moka pot |
| Ground | Classico Decaf | 250g tin | £7.99 | Espresso, moka pot |
| Whole bean | Classico Decaf | 250g can | £7.99 | Home grinders, espresso |
| Nespresso compatible | Decaffeinated Espresso | 10 pack | £5.35 | Nespresso Original line |
| iperEspresso | Decaffeinated | 18 or 30 pack | £9.10 to £14.80 | illy iperEspresso machines only |
| ESE pods | Classico Decaf | 18 pack | £8.60 | Any ESE compatible espresso machine |
| Instant | DECAFFEINATO | 95g jar | £8.10 | Quick cup, travel |
The pod situation is where most buyers go wrong. Three pod formats sit on the shelf and they are not interchangeable. Nespresso compatible capsules fit Nespresso Original machines and run cheapest, with kaffek.co.uk at £3.65 per 10 the cheapest UK source I have found. iperEspresso needs an illy iperEspresso machine to work at all. ESE pods are 44mm paper pods that fit any ESE compatible espresso machine. Check what your machine takes before clicking buy.
How does illy decaffeinate its coffee
CO2, also called supercritical carbon dioxide extraction. Green beans are pre soaked to open the pores, then immersed in CO2 pressurised to between 150 and 300 bar. At that pressure CO2 behaves like a solvent and binds selectively to caffeine, leaving the lipids and aromatic compounds that carry flavour mostly in place. Temperature stays below 100°C to protect the more delicate aromatics. No chemical solvents at any stage.
CO2 sits alongside Swiss Water as one of the two specialty grade industrial methods. Both avoid ethyl acetate and methylene chloride, the cheaper solvent based alternatives. CO2 is rarer in UK specialty because the equipment is expensive at small scale, which is why most independent roasters source Swiss Water decaffeinated green from Canada rather than running CO2 in house.
A retailer page ranking for “illy decaffeination method” describes the process as a “natural water process”. It is not. The confusion comes from illy’s own historical marketing of CO2 as the “sparkling water process”, which is technically correct and invites the mix up.
How much caffeine does illy decaf contain
Less than 0.1% caffeine by weight, compared with approximately 60mg in a regular illy shot. Roughly a tenth of the dose, well inside the EU threshold for decaffeinated coffee.
The instant DECAFFEINATO sits slightly higher at “no more than 0.3%” caffeine by weight. Still negligible against a regular cup, but worth knowing if you are getting through several jars a week.
For reference, Swiss Water decaf typically lands between 2 and 15mg per cup, or around 5mg per espresso shot. Both CO2 and Swiss Water methods produce results well inside what most drinkers experience as effectively caffeine free.
What does illy decaf taste like
Caramel, chocolate, orange blossom, jasmine. Lingering sweetness on the finish. Full bodied with balanced acidity. The same flavour vocabulary illy uses for its regular Classico, with the edges slightly rounder because CO2 takes a little top aromatic complexity along with the caffeine.
Built for Italian style brewing. Espresso machine, moka pot, milk drinks. The chocolate and caramel notes hold up in a cappuccino or flat white rather than disappearing under foam. The grind is calibrated for espresso, so an Aeropress comes through smooth and a little flat. There are better filter decafs in the UK if filter is your daily brew.
The verdict. A cut above generic supermarket decaf and reliably good batch to batch, which is most of what people want from a fall back tin in the cupboard. Not a specialty single origin decaf, and not pretending to be. If your benchmark is the best of UK specialty, you will notice the bias towards uniformity over character. If your benchmark is the supermarket own brand, you will notice the gap going the other way.
Where to buy illy decaf coffee in the UK
Tesco stocks the 250g ground tin. Waitrose stocks the Nespresso compatible capsules in 10 packs. Ocado carries both. Amazon UK is the easiest single source for the wider range including ESE pods and instant. Illy.com direct sells the full UK range and runs Subscribe & Save, which knocks the per tin price down on repeat orders.
How does illy decaf compare to specialty UK decafs
The Decaffeinate directory currently lists 84 active decaf coffees from independent roasters, primarily UK and Ireland. Seven use the same CO2 method illy applies, with the rest split across Swiss Water, Sugar Cane Ethyl Acetate and Mountain Water. Active price band runs £6.49 to £36.29 per 250g, mean around £12.32. Illy at £7.99 per 250g sits below the directory mean.
What specialty offers that illy does not. Single origin traceability with named farm, country and sometimes processing station. Method variety, with Sugar Cane Ethyl Acetate now the largest category in the directory and absent from the illy range entirely. More variable cup character, lighter roasts, fruit forward profiles. Roast to order freshness, since most UK specialty decaf ships within days of roast where illy tins sit on a shelf for months.
What illy offers that specialty does not. Supermarket availability, the widest format range in one brand, batch to batch consistency, and a stable entry level price that small roasters cannot match.
If illy is already in your cupboard and you like the caramel and chocolate gravity, the directory has CO2 and Swiss Water coffees with similar tones that will sharpen the cup. Rounton Coffee’s Sparkling Water Decaf at £11 is the closest like for like: same CO2 method, single origin Peru, dark chocolate, cherry and brown sugar. Browse the full directory and filter by Decaf Method to see the rest.