Most people searching for L’OR decaf want to know two things: how is the caffeine taken out, and is it any good?
L’OR doesn’t tell you the first one. Their decaf page describes the process as “a solvent or water-based method” and leaves it there. No specific method appears on the jar, the refill, or the capsule packaging.
The JDE Peet’s family pattern gives you a clue. JDE owns Kenco (CO2, marketed as chemical free), Peet’s (water process), Douwe Egberts (methylene chloride, reported in trade sources but unconfirmed from UK public-facing materials) and L’OR. The two JDE brands using solvent-free methods both advertise the fact. L’OR makes no equivalent claim. Methylene chloride is the most probable method. We can’t prove it from the public sources, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise.
That uncertainty matters because it shapes how you should read the rest of this page. L’OR is fine instant decaf. Competitively priced, widely stocked, and the only one of the big three UK supermarket decaf brands with a Nespresso compatible pod range. Until L’OR confirms the method, anyone shopping by chemical processing should treat it as a probable solvent decaf.
How L’OR removes the caffeine
The honest answer is that we don’t fully know.
L’OR’s website describes the process as “using a solvent or water-based method to extract caffeine from the beans, repeating until the desired caffeine level is achieved.” That covers every commercial decaffeination method ever invented. It tells you nothing.
What we can say: JDE Peet’s runs different methods across its portfolio. Kenco uses supercritical CO2 and markets the fact prominently. Peet’s Coffee uses water process. Douwe Egberts is reported to use methylene chloride, though this has not been confirmed from UK public-facing materials. L’OR sits closer to Douwe Egberts in JDE’s range than to Kenco or Peet’s, both in positioning and in the absence of any chemical free marketing claim.
The most probable L’OR method is methylene chloride. Confirming it would need a physical label check or a JDE press confirmation. If processing method matters to you, that uncertainty is the answer. Brands using cleaner methods generally tell you so.
What L’OR sells in decaf
Two product lines. Instant Decaféine and Nespresso compatible decaf capsules.
| Product | Format | Size | Typical UK price |
|---|---|---|---|
| L’OR Decaféine Instant | Freeze dried granules | 150g glass jar | £6.95 to £8.65 |
| L’OR Decaféine Refill | Paper refill pack | 125g | £5.00 (lorespresso.com) |
| L’OR Espresso Decaffeinato | Capsule | 10 pack | £4.25 (£2.90 Tesco Clubcard) |
| L’OR Ristretto Decaffeinato | Capsule | 10 pack | £4.25 |
| L’OR XXL Decaffeinato | Capsule, long cup | 10 pack | £6.29 |
| L’OR Costa Smooth Decaf Roast | Capsule, Lungo | 10 pack | £3.60 |
The instant is Colombian Arabica, freeze dried, single ingredient. The 125g paper refill is L’OR’s lower packaging option and is currently confirmed on the L’OR website rather than in supermarkets.
All decaf capsules are Nespresso Original Line compatible. They also work in L’OR’s own Barista system, made by Philips. They will not fit a Nespresso Vertuo.
The Espresso Decaffeinato is the volume seller at intensity 6. The Ristretto Decaffeinato runs intensity 9, the strongest decaf in the range. The Costa Smooth pod is a recent addition that hasn’t reached every retailer yet.
What’s in it
The instant is one ingredient: decaffeinated freeze dried Colombian Arabica coffee. No additives, no preservatives, no flavourings.
L’OR does not publish a full EU ingredient declaration online for the decaf range, and the capsule packaging is the cleanest place to read it. From what is published, the product looks straightforwardly single ingredient and likely vegan. Both are worth a label check if either matters to you.
The glass jar (150g) is recyclable. The 125g refill pack uses paper rather than glass and is described by L’OR as using 97% less packaging by weight than the jar. That refill format echoes what Kenco launched in 2009 with their Refills line, seventeen years earlier.
How much caffeine is left
About 2mg per cup, by L’OR’s own figure.
| Drink | Caffeine (mg) |
|---|---|
| L’OR Decaféine (one cup) | ~2 |
| Regular instant coffee | 100 |
| Espresso (single shot) | 60 to 80 |
| Regular tea | 75 |
| EU max for instant decaf (1.6g serving) | ~4.8 |
| NHS pregnancy daily limit | 200 |
EU regulations cap decaf at 0.3% caffeine in instant coffee by dry weight. At L’OR’s recommended 1.6g serving, the theoretical maximum is about 4.8mg per cup. L’OR’s stated 2mg sits comfortably inside that, and matches what every other major UK instant decaf claims. Residual caffeine varies a little between brands, but not by enough that it should shape your decision.
You would need to drink roughly 40 cups of L’OR decaf to match a single regular coffee. Nobody does that.
L’OR decaf vs the competition
The three biggest UK supermarket decaf brands, plus the specialty alternative.
| L’OR Decaféine | Kenco Decaff | Nescafe Gold Decaf | Specialty decaf | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Probable methylene chloride (undisclosed) | CO2 | Methylene chloride (reported) | Swiss Water / Sugarcane / CO2 |
| Chemical free | Not as far as we can tell | Yes | No | Yes |
| Method disclosed | No | Yes, prominently | No | Yes, prominently |
| Caffeine per cup | ~2mg | ~2 to 5mg | ~2 to 5mg | ~2 to 5mg |
| Price per 100g (instant) | £4.63 to £5.77 | ~£4.18 | ~£4.11 | n/a (whole bean / ground) |
| Pod range | Yes, Nespresso Original | None | None | Yes, specialty Swiss Water |
| Taste | Smooth, balanced, familiar | Clean, mild | Smoother, richer | Origin-specific, wildly varied |
L’OR’s distinction inside the supermarket trio is the pod range. Kenco and Nescafe do not sell decaf capsules. L’OR does, at competitive prices, and they are Nespresso Original Line compatible. If you have a Nespresso machine and you want decaf, L’OR is one of the cheapest routes in.
If processing method matters more to you than format, look at Kenco. CO2 process, disclosed, similar price band, instant only.
The right-hand column is there for a reason. Specialty decaf costs three to five times more per cup, but it is a different drink. Single origin beans, small batch roasting, named producers, flavour profiles that run from blueberry and jasmine to dark chocolate and hazelnut. If you’ve only ever had supermarket decaf, the gap is bigger than you’d expect.
Where to buy L’OR decaf in the UK
The 150g Decaféine jar is the most widely stocked product.
| Retailer | Price (150g instant) |
|---|---|
| Ocado | £6.95 |
| ASDA | £7.00 |
| Tesco | £8.65 (£6.50 Clubcard) |
| Morrisons | £8.65 |
| Waitrose / Sainsbury’s | Listed, price varies |
| Amazon | Available |
L’OR’s decaf capsules are at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Amazon, and direct on lorespresso.com. Tesco’s Clubcard price on the Ristretto Decaffeinato 10 pack has been £2.90 in recent weeks against a regular £4.25, which is the cheapest decaf 10 pod on any UK supermarket shelf at time of writing.
The 125g paper refill currently appears only on the L’OR website. Worth checking before you assume your supermarket carries it. For where each supermarket sits on decaf range more broadly, the retailer pages cover it.
Is L’OR decaf any good?
For what it is, yes.
The instant is competently made, reasonably priced, and tastes the way a familiar supermarket decaf should. The capsule range gives Nespresso owners a cheaper decaf option than Nespresso’s own decaf pods, with four formats and Clubcard prices that dip under £3 a sleeve. Both are widely stocked and easy to live with.
What it isn’t, is clear about what’s in it. L’OR doesn’t disclose its decaffeination method, doesn’t claim to be chemical free, and sits inside a JDE Peet’s portfolio where solvent processing is the default. If you choose decaf because you’re avoiding solvent processed coffee, L’OR isn’t the brand to bet on without confirmation. Kenco is the supermarket alternative that does disclose, uses CO2, and costs roughly the same per cup.
If you want pods that taste like coffee rather than coffee flavoured water, and you’d rather know how the caffeine came out, the directory lists the UK specialty roasters making decaf properly. Worth a look before you buy your next sleeve.