DRIVING 'DECAF DESIRABILITY'

There's never been a better time to quit caffeine

- KENDRA VACULIN

Any time US woman Katherine Howe drank coffee, her side effects would stack up like a midnight WebMD search: jitters, anxiety, acid reflux.

But Howe, a 34-year-old model who lives in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, kept up the habit for years — mostly because she couldn't find a compelling alternative.

“The only caffeine-free thing at the coffee shop was chamomile in a tea bag,” she said. “Even trying to order decaf sometimes, the response would be like, ‘Oh, no, sorry. Why would we do that?’”

Luckily for Howe, the culture has shifted. A renewed focus on health has inspired many people to examine their relationship with coffee and, more specifically, caffeine, mirroring changes in alcohol consumption. And the impulse to meet and linger at cafes has returned to, if not exceeded, pre-Covid-lockdown levels.

“People love their third spaces, and more and more they want those spaces to adapt to how they want to feel in a given moment,” said Sara Gibson, an owner of Sightseer Coffee in Austin, Texas. “Sometimes that's caffeinated, and sometimes it's not.”

Many coffee shops across the United States have recently expanded their lowand no-caffeine beverage options, and the offerings are a far cry from dusty tea bags and rewarmed decaf. Instead, these drinks are just as thoughtful and social-media-ready as their stimulating counterparts, appealing to a wider range of dedicated consumers.

Matcha's whirlwind rise and subsequent shortages can be credited, in part, to a desire for a gentler form of caffeine, sourced and prepared with care. Now, “decaf desirability” is peaking, said Haile Thomas, an owner of the cafe Matcha Thomas in Beacon, New York.

“Even people who have an affinity for caffeinated drinks, when they see that we're trying to creatively approach decaf options, are intrigued.”