Right now, I can tell you that Merit Coffee Sugarcane Decaf is really good. Smooth and balanced. But I'm trying to not buy things from Texas, so that began the taste testing adventure. 5/5
I'm on my second cup of sugarcane decaf from Shavi Coffee out of Washington DC. I found the first cup to be "muddy" and leaning a little bitter. Second cup was better, but still suggested bitterness that I'm not a fan of. I'm tasting the tiniest hint of "winey" notes, but they're very faint. If it were the end of the world and I had to choose between these beans and supporting a Texas business as my only two choices, then I guess I'd still be buying Merit beans. 3/5
I have a bag of sugarcane decaf on the way from Gibson Coffee in Vermont. I'll update when I get a cup of that going. ?/5
I've also had Happy Mug Rainy Day Decaf from Pennsylvania. It's a water process decaf. I would say Shavi Beans have an edge over the Happy Mug beans, but for my taste buds I think sugarcane process decaf will always hold the advantage over water process. 3/5
Amazon Fresh Decaf Columbia is a shit coffee that's bitter to the point of being acrid. No better than Great Value preground decaf, except that the Amazon beans stay fresher longer because they're whole beans. 1/5
Bristot Decaf, Procaffe', of Italy is another bag of beans I tried through Amazon. It's an OK decaf whole bean. Also water process. Still a little on the bitter side. I'd choose the Happy Mug beans over the Bristot. But in my coffee journal (I'm a geek), I gave them a 3/5 noting the convenience factor of just pressing two clicks on Amazon and having it show up with other crap I ordered but didn't really need.
Let me know if you try any good decaf whole bean -- I'd love some recommendations!