> Be ready for headaches early on and couple of lethargic weeks until your brain somewhat resets.
Oh my god no don't do this. Why would you do this?
Just taper your caffeine down by about 5% of your starting caffeine intake over the course of 20 days and you'll get off of it with zero headaches. You'll feel a tiny bit less energy over those 20 days but it's not a big deal. And if even the tiny-bit-less-energy annoys you, you can plateau at any time and then resume the tapering down a few days later.
I've done this several times. I personally gradually change the proportion of caf/decaf beans I grind for each coffee (I like the coffee ritual) but you can also just drink less of a cup of coffee.
The headache you get from cold turkey caffeine withdrawal is so incredibly shockingly painful, I've tried it once and never again. There's no reason to subject your body to a shock like that. The pain is your body telling you don't do this.
(If you're wondering why I've done this so many times, it's because sometimes there are weeks/months where you need coffee to get you through it. But then when I have months where I know I won't need coffee, I then taper back off.)
If you don't mind, may I ask what issues you ran into with gradual tapering?
I agree with that too. It's also worth to go cold turkey for a month or so and then keep the coffee intake regulated (eg never early in the morning but later before noon after your natural alertness drops) 3x a week or so and whenever you get back on frequent coffee repeat the process - this worked for me better than half/half.
Be ready for headaches early on and couple of lethargic weeks until your brain somewhat resets.
What I missed in decaf the most was, well the caffeine. Caffeine is spicy so what I did to compensate was adding mix of spices (cardamom, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon) to my morning brew and that made it more satisfying.
Btw. I own coffee roastery so I drink my own decaf which I now prefer over caffeinated coffee. With decaf you'll need either a dark roasted one or find some real premium brands. After months of going cold turkey I now only drink before bodybuilding workout or for pleasure socially.