Independence
Independence is the foundation. Three things follow from it.
No paid listings. A roaster, brand, or supermarket cannot pay to appear on decaffeinate. They cannot pay to rank higher, appear on more pages, or get a better description. The directory is the same whether a coffee is from a one-person micro-roaster or a national supermarket line.
No sponsored editorial. We don't accept payment for editorial coverage of any kind. If we publish a guide, a feature, or a list, no roaster has paid to be in it. If that ever changes, this page will say so first.
Affiliate links are disclosed and never influence editorial. Some links on decaffeinate may earn a commission when readers buy through them. These never determine which coffees are listed, how they are described, or how they rank. The full picture is on the affiliate disclosure page.
What we cover
decaffeinate aims to be a complete record of specialty decaf coffee available to UK buyers. The bar for inclusion is straightforward.
- Sold as decaffeinated coffee
- Available to buy in the UK
- Specialty grade (single origin or named blend, with origin and method declared)
- Discoverable on the roaster's own site or current retail listing
That's it. We're not building a "best of" list as the directory. We're building a definitive reference. If a coffee meets the criteria, it should be on decaffeinate whether we love it or have never tried it.
How we write descriptions
Every coffee description on decaffeinate is researched and written individually. The process for each one:
- Read the roaster's product page end to end
- Capture origin, method, processing, and any sensory notes declared
- Note what makes the coffee distinct from the next one
- Write a short description in plain language
We don't copy marketing copy. We don't generate descriptions from a template. We don't lift from another directory. Where we quote roaster-supplied tasting notes, the quote is attributed. The aim is a description a friend would find useful.
How rankings and lists work
Most pages on decaffeinate (the main coffee directory, the supermarket pages, the brand pages) are sorted by structural criteria: alphabetical, by method, or by data attribute. Order is not editorial.
Some pages do involve editorial judgement. Our "best of" guides and curated lists rank or feature coffees based on a stated set of criteria. When we do this, the criteria are visible on the page. The methodology page explains the framework we use.
One rule applies everywhere. Affiliate relationships, advertising, or commercial connections never affect rankings or featured status. If we feature a coffee from a roaster who is also an affiliate partner, the affiliate relationship is disclosed on the page and the editorial reasoning is visible.
Conflicts of interest
Si Walker, the editor, has no commercial interest in any UK coffee roaster, supermarket coffee brand, or decaf supplier. He doesn't own, work for, consult to, or take payment from any business listed on decaffeinate. If that changes for any specific brand, the connection will be declared on the relevant page and that brand will be excluded from any "best of" feature.
Sources and attribution
When a fact comes from somewhere specific (a roaster's product page, a supplier statement, a published article, a public dataset) we attribute it. Where we make an editorial judgement, the language makes that clear ("we think", "in our view", "based on our reading"). We don't dress opinion as fact.
Corrections
We get things wrong. Coffees go out of stock, roasters rebrand, decaf methods change between batches. If you spot something inaccurate, the corrections page has the fastest way to flag it. We aim to fix factual errors within seven days.
What this page does not cover
This page sets out the principles behind editorial work on decaffeinate. It does not cover affiliate disclosure (separate page), how the directory is built and maintained as a dataset (the methodology page), or the privacy and data terms of using the site.