What are Lavazza Tablì Decaf Tabs?
The only decaf for the Tablì machine, and it costs the same as the caffeinated tabs.
Lavazza rates the Decaf at intensity 7 of 13, describes it as a full-bodied 100% Arabica with rich nutty and chocolatey notes, and sells 48 tabs for $48.00. Like every tab in the range, the coffee has no casing: it is pressed into a disc and brewed as it is.
This review is based on what Lavazza publishes. We have not tasted it, and the flavour description is the maker's.
The same price, which is worth noting
Decaf frequently costs more per cup than the coffee it is a version of, because the processing is an extra step. Here it does not: $48.00 for 48, a dollar a shot, exactly what the Lavazza Tablì Espresso Tabs and Super Crema boxes cost. For a household that drinks caffeinated in the morning and decaf after dinner, that removes the usual penalty.
What Lavazza does not publish
Two things, and a decaf buyer notices both. The first is how the caffeine was removed. Water, carbon dioxide, ethyl acetate and methylene chloride all produce a decaf, they taste different and some buyers rule one out, and Lavazza names none of them for this tab. The methods are set out in how decaf coffee is made.
The second is the caffeine that remains. No decaf is caffeine free, and the amount left matters to anyone avoiding it for medical reasons. Lavazza publishes no figure for the tab, so the honest answer is that it will be a small amount and nobody outside Lavazza can say how small.
One shot, and no second machine
A decaf tab makes a single shot, the same as the Espresso and Super Crema tabs, so an evening decaf is the same press of the same button with a different tab in your hand. That sounds trivial and is most of the reason decaf sells in single-serve at all: no second grinder, no second bag going stale, no cleaning a grinder out between two coffees.
It also means the decaf drinker in a household is not the one making compromises. Everyone uses the same machine, at the same speed, and the only difference is which box the tab came from.
Where it sits, and what it fits
Intensity 7 puts it just below the Espresso tab at 8, so it is close to a like-for-like evening version rather than a thinner one. It fits the Tablì machine and nothing else, and nothing else fits the Tablì. If you want decaf from this system, this box is the only option there is.
Why single serve suits decaf, and where this one helps
Decaf is the classic single-serve case. A household that drinks two decafs a week does not want to open a bag of it, because the rest goes stale before it is finished, and grinding a second coffee in the evening is a chore nobody keeps up. A single sealed dose solves that, which is why almost every pod system sells one.
A tab answers it halfway. Each tab is still one dose, so nothing is ground or measured, but a tab has no wrapper of its own: the box is the packaging, and Lavazza publishes nothing about how long the tabs keep once it is opened. For an occasional decaf drinker, 48 tabs is a long time for an opened box to sit, which is a practical consideration rather than a theoretical one. See how to store coffee.
How long 48 decafs last
This is the arithmetic worth doing before you buy. A household drinking one decaf after dinner finishes a box in about seven weeks. One that drinks decaf twice a week takes six months, and that is a long time for an unwrapped coffee to sit in an opened box, however well it is stored.
If you are in the second group, the Variety Collection is the more sensible buy: twelve decaf tabs alongside twelve of each of the others, at the same dollar a tab, and no box of 48 slowly going flat in a cupboard.
What it costs against the decaf shelf
A dollar a shot puts it level with the caffeinated tabs and at the top of what Nespresso Original capsules cost on this site. Most systems sell their decaf at the usual price too, so the format is not doing anything unusual here; what it is doing is not charging the decaf premium that some roasters put on bags.
Is it worth it?
For a Tablì owner, yes, with one caveat: it is the only decaf available for the machine, so "worth it" mostly means "worth owning the machine". At a dollar a shot with no price penalty and no capsule to deal with, it is a fair deal on its own terms.
If the decaffeination method matters to you, and for a lot of decaf drinkers it does, this is a box that will not tell you. Bags that do are on our best decaf coffee list.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Buy it if
- You own a Tablì machine and drink decaf in the evening.
- You want decaf without paying more per cup than for caffeinated.
- You want the waste of a decaf habit to be grounds rather than capsules.
Skip it if
- You need to know how the caffeine was removed.
- You are avoiding caffeine on medical advice and want a published figure.
- You drink decaf rarely; 48 tabs will outlast their freshness for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Lavazza Tablì decaf decaffeinated?
Lavazza does not publish the method for this tab. Ask the retailer if it matters to you.
Is Tablì decaf caffeine free?
No decaf is. Lavazza publishes no residual caffeine figure for the tab.
Does the decaf cost more than the caffeinated tabs?
No. It is $48.00 for 48, the same as the Espresso and Super Crema boxes.
How strong is the decaf tab?
Intensity 7 on Lavazza's 13-point scale, just below the Espresso tab at 8.
What machine takes Tablì decaf tabs?
The Lavazza Tablì machine, and no other.
