by Nigel Ong
Breakfast blend coffee is usually coffee roasts created for the first sips of the day. Usually light and easy, these are excellent coffee to be enjoyed by many. It also contains a decent amount of caffeine, enough to jump-start your day without being too intense.
However, would these characteristics change when you make them decaf?
Let’s find out with New England Coffee’s Breakfast Blend Decaf.
As usual, I will brew the coffee several ways and sample it with different flavorings. Finally, I compare the coffee with other relevant roasts before deciding who should give this coffee a try.
About New England Coffee Breakfast Blend
New England Coffee is a prominent coffee brand in the United States, especially in the Northeast region.
Its history dates back to 1916 when it was founded by Menelaos Kaloyanides in Boston, Massachusetts. His brother George and his cousin Megaklis Papadopoulos also joined him.
Initially, it operated as “Kaloyanides Brothers,” focusing on importing and roasting coffee.
Over the years, New England Coffee started offering more coffee roasts, including various blends and flavors to cater to different tastes. These include classic blends like Breakfast Blend, Colombian, and French Roast.
There are also flavored coffees such as Hazelnut Crème and French Vanilla. The company also keeps up with trends by offering seasonal flavors and limited-edition roasts.
2013 New England Coffee became a part of Reily Foods Company 2013, making it a sister brand with popular products such as Blue Plate Mayonnaise and Luzianne.
First Impression
New England coffee can be quite a regular sight on local grocery shelves. However, I never really tasted it since I got used to my regular coffee roasts.
The packaging may also be the reason. It uses a more pastel-like color, making it less able to stand out, compared to the bright, almost fluorescent colors some roasters use to label the coffee bag – Gevalia and Green Mountain come to mind here.
I can tell on the packaging labels that this roast uses 100% Arabica beans and is a medium roast. I wish the decaf label could have been made clearer, as some buyers can easily miss out.
The design may be nice, but the coffee bag can functionally be better. There may be a foldable tab to help you reseal the coffee once you open it, but the one-way valve needs to be better.
And yes, the seal is quite tight, so I gave up trying to open it with my fingers. I used a knife instead.
The coffee smells inviting and fresh. I can pick up chocolate and cream-like richness from the coffee’s aroma. I think this will be an indulgent coffee, but let’s see.
My roast comes as coffee grounds, so I cannot directly compare the coffee beans with others. However, in appearance, the coffee looks pretty regular in color, not being too light or dark. This should mean it’s a well-executed medium roast.
How Does New England Coffee Breakfast Blend Taste?
To give the New England Coffee’s Breakfast Blend Decaf a fair review, I will brew it in three ways, listed below. The main idea is to brew the coffee using immersion and filtration methods.
French Press: This brewing style makes a murky, full-flavored coffee with floating particles. This should allow me to sample the coffee in all its ‘glory.’ I expect full flavor and strong flavor with this coffee.
Pour Over With Filter Paper: This method produces a ‘cleaner’ version of the coffee without too much oil and particles floating about. This should help me to sample more of the subtle notes.
Espresso: New England Coffee’s Breakfast Blend Decaf is a medium roast. However, I would like to see how the coffee tastes when I pack the flavors into a small cup of Espresso.
French Press
I started off my brewing with a French press. I relied on my Bodum Caffettiera French press and brewed a 2-cup batch for the French press.
I used the 1:12 coffee-to-water ratio recommended by Illy Coffee, which is similar to my other coffee reviews. That’s around 15 grams of coffee and 180ml of hot water at around 185°F (about 85°C).
I let the hot water brew with the coffee ground for 4 minutes before pouring a cup for myself to drink.
The coffee tastes smooth, easy, and light. It suits a breakfast blend: easy-to-sip coffee to suit as many palates as possible. The coffee tasted rounded, without anything edgy.
Flavor note-wise, I do notice the slightly rich sweetness, which reminds me of milk chocolate. There are also some creamy notes, which remind me of Baileys. This creamy note may be more noticeable at the finish.
There are also some nutty notes as I sip, especially when the coffee cools slightly.
I also noticed the coffee has a rather fast finish. Once I swallow the coffee, the coffee’s flavor diminishes from my palate quickly. This makes me want to chase it with another sip quickly.
Pour Over With Filter Paper
For my pour-over brew, I use the following gear to make my cup of New England Coffee’s Breakfast Blend Decaf:
My pour-over brewing method is based on Starbucks. I added 20 grams of ground coffee into my dripper and slowly poured 360ml of water.
My coffee tasted cleaner, for sure. I seem to notice the coffee becoming even smoother and softer in flavor.
I notice less creamy notes in pour-over cups, probably because the filter paper sucked up some of the coffee oils that give the flavor. However, the coffee also has less bitterness and smoke.
This is expected, as filtered coffee usually has fewer particles, meaning these bitter, smoky notes are less present.
I prefer the French press version more than the filtered version, although you may differ from me.
Espresso
I used my Wacaco Minipresso GR to pull out a shot of Espresso. This is a hand-held, manually-operated espresso maker. I started by grinding the coffee further to make it workable with an espresso machine.
Once done, I packed the coffee grounds into the filter basket. Then I add in hot water and pump out my Espresso.
The crema does not smell smoky; it has an earthy and creamy smell. I was able to pick up some toasty smell, which sort of reminds me of toasted oats.
When sipping, it does not deliver the punch like typical Espresso does. Instead, I get a fresh coffee flavor with creamy notes. There is also some sweetness, and I’ll describe it as chocolate.
With Sugar and Sweetener
I have two sweeteners, which I think are probably the most common ones used:
- Brown, granulated cane sugar
- Equal artificial sweetener.
I first made two full cups of French press New England Coffee’s Breakfast Blend Decaf. Then, I added two drops of Equal artificial sweetener for the first cup, with a stick of brown cane sugar on the other.
Regular sugar helps to make the coffee silkier and slightly shinier on the outside. I think it also makes the coffee smoother to drink.
Since the coffee is not smoky, the sweetness does not have to compete, making it taste pleasant. The milk chocolate flavor also seems to become even stronger, making the coffee a more indulgent drink.
As for the Equal, I think it helps give the coffee a smoother finish, with a longer sweet aftertaste lingering on my palate. The latter is probably more of a characteristic of Aspartame, though.
This gives the coffee a less natural experience. I prefer mine with sugar here by a wide margin.
With Milk and Creamer
As usual, I used whole, fresh UHT cow’s milk and Coffee Mate creamer for my review.
I added a milk shot (about 1 oz or 30ml) to one cup of my New England Coffee’s Breakfast Blend Decaf coffee. For the second cup, I added a stick of Coffee Mate creamer.
Both milk and creamer instantly turn the coffee brownish, making it look creamy and inviting. Both also made the coffee a little silkier and thicker. The texture made the coffee glide in my mouth smoothly.
Try swishing the coffee in your mouth and experience how the coffee’s texture is different and more ‘bouncy.’
Flavor-wise, this coffee may be a bit soft, but it can handle the milk and creamer. It softens the coffee but does not drown away its flavor.
Of the two, I prefer the natural taste of milk. Creamers may be fine, but they lack the ‘body’ and ‘depth’ of creaminess that milk can provide. The sweetness from milk tastes more natural, too, thanks to the lactose inside.
New England Coffee Breakfast Blend vs Breakfast Blends
New England Coffee’s Breakfast Blend Decaf is a breakfast blend. This means it only makes sense to pit it against other breakfast blends, too.
I brewed black coffee out of these blends and sipped them side by side with my Green Mountain Breakfast Blend:
- Starbucks Breakfast Blend
- McCafe Breakfast Blend
- Community Coffee Breakfast Blend
- Green Mountain Breakfast Blend
I think the Community Coffee Breakfast Blend tastes the best from this list. It is a medium roast, slightly smoky with peanut flavors, that I enjoy a lot. It is also quite rich in flavor, with flavors that other roasts cannot match.
The Green Mountain Breakfast Blend finishes third, closely behind the McCafe Breakfast Blend.
I would place the New England Coffee last with Starbucks Breakfast Blend. I think the New England Coffee’s decaf status made it a bit handicapped in flavor.
New England Coffee Breakfast Blend vs Medium Roasts
Next, I sampled the New England Coffee’s Breakfast Blend Decaf with other popular medium-roasted blends. These are:
- Folgers 1850 Pioneer Roast
- Dunkin Original Blend
- Community Coffee American Classic
- Lavazza Qualita Oro
As a start, these are blends, which means they are created to appeal to as many palates as possible. The flavors on these coffees are pleasant, with rounded, non-edgy flavors.
These are also 100% Arabica coffee. They are, however, caffeinated, unlike the New England Coffee.
Choosing between these coffees boils down to flavor notes and quality. In this case, I reluctantly placed the New England Coffee last on the list.
This doesn’t sound kind, but here is why: The coffee does not seem to have the flavor of other coffee. Could it be from the fact that New England Coffee’s Breakfast Blend is a decaffeinated coffee?
New England Coffee Breakfast Blend vs Decaf Roasts
I also have a couple of decaf roasts in my collection; they are:
- Peet’s Major Dickason Decaf
- AmazonFresh Decaf Colombia
I decided to compare them.
I pulled out the two coffees, brewed them in a French press, and drank them with my New England Coffee’s Breakfast Blend Decaf.
Of the three, I prefer the New England Coffee the most, as it leaves me most satisfied. It has a better aroma, and I found the chocolate and creamy aroma especially nice.
The Major Dickason is very good as well. However, since I prefer medium and light roasts, I find the dark roast coffee from Major Dickason less enjoyable than New England’s.
New England Coffee Breakfast Blend vs. Regular Coffee
Finally, I wanted to compare how much better New England Coffee’s Breakfast Blend Decaf is than your regular, $1 gas station and convenience store coffee.
For this comparison, I marched to a local 7-Eleven store and picked up a cup of Americano.
It goes without saying that New England Coffee is better than regular coffee. There is a deeper flavor and more satisfaction from sipping it.
The regular coffee just tastes a little flat and, yes, watery. This could mean underbrewing or poor coffee-to-water ratio.
New England Coffee Breakfast Blend Decaf For You?
This is how I would sum up New England Coffee’s Breakfast Blend Decaf. It is a regular breakfast blend with decent flavor and should appeal to many.
The flavor is what you would expect from a breakfast blend – soft, mild, and comfortable. I do not think the coffee you sip does not surprise you with odd, edgy flavors.
My biggest issue is the decaf. Breakfast Blends are probably enjoyed in the morning, meaning the caffeine would not cause insomnia. Plus, Breakfast Blends are not loaded with a lot of caffeine. I do not see the point of making the coffee decaf.
I would say that this coffee is good for those with caffeine sensitivity or who just want to stay clear of the drug. If not, there are nicer breakfast blends that are both caffeinated and taste better, too.