Why does DECAF Coffee look darker when roasted ?

DECAF coffee can get very dark, very quickly, but that does not reflect the actual roast level. In fact, decaf is already a darker shade than non-decaf coffee before roasting. Simply put, a medium roast DECAF coffee will always look darker than a medium roast non-DECAF.

This is due to the decaffeinating process.

The Mountain Water Process does a great job of leaving the volatile compounds in the coffee intact, decaffeination weakens the internal structure of the coffee so there is a different colour progression – the beans will shift colour from “green” (unroasted), to brown to dark brown very quickly.

This happens well before the DECAF coffee approaches first crack.