Decaf Spice?

I love good coffee. In my view, a fragrant cup of coffee after a meal is better than dessert. Sadly, I become quickly "addicted" to caffeine and get nagging, three-day withdrawal headaches when I don't get my "fix." I have learned over the years to drink caffeinated coffee no more than three days in a row to avoid the nasty after effects of caffeine addiction. Decaf never tastes quite as good but I've found some that are awfully close to the high-test kind.

Most recently, I bought a pound of "Louis' " organic, fair trade Holy Cow Blend of decaf beans and, feeling that the addiction was looming after a few days of his excellent Mocha Java, I brewed a pot of the decaf for breakfast.

Holy Cow has a very interesting profile - distinctly spice. It's very light and clear in the cup, like smoky topaz gems. You can see all the way to the bottom of the cup. The most surprising thing to me is that it tastes of cinnamon. There is no cinnamon, really - it's just the beans - but I detected a whiff of cinnamon in every sip. Now, you're wrinkling your nose and thinking of cinnamon rolls but that isn't correct; there was no sweetness, just the scents of coffee and cinnamon.

I'm adding this blend to my anti-addiction rotation and looking forward to more spicy mornings.