What are the steps taken to remove the caffeine from coffee?

Decaffeinated coffee is a good alternative for those who want to cut down on their caffeine consumption. You can still enjoy the aroma and health benefits of coffee with only a barely perceptible trace of caffeine.

Discover the steps necessary to create your own decaf brew with the help of this article! Some of the benefits and drawbacks, as well as an examination of whether or not "decaf" actually means "no caffeine at all," will be covered.

The Top 10 Decaf Coffee Beans is a related read.

What processes are used to remove caffeine from coffee?

You've probably heard of decaf coffee by now. You may be wondering, how exactly is decaf coffee prepared?

A man named Ludwig Roselius wanted to remove the caffeine from coffee back in 1905. He reasoned that if he wet the beans, the caffeine would be more easily extracted, and then soaked them in benzene, he would finally get what he wanted. They were the first beans to be processed to remove caffeine. I can only guess how delicious they were. The National Cancer Institute now classifies benzene as a carcinogenic substance (1).

Up until fairly recently, the most common technique was chemical extraction. Because of the chemical aftertaste, decaffeinated coffee has a poor reputation. Caffeine is no longer extracted from coffee using benzene; instead, manufacturers have shifted to safer alternatives. There are still situations where chemical processes are involved.

All methods of decaffeination share a few essential features:

• Due to the solubility of caffeine in water, it is always present.
• There are over a thousand chemicals that contribute to coffee's flavor in addition to caffeine. A perfect method would only involve securing caffeine while leaving the rest of the ingredients untouched.
• Ethyl acetate and methylene chloride are two of the chemicals used in the process. Since water would remove more than just the caffeine, these solvents are used to lessen the blow.
• Without exception, green coffee beans are used at the outset of the decaffeination process.

There are currently four standard approaches to decaffeinating coffee. Chemical solvents are only used in two of these four. Products that have been decaffeinated without mentioning the method used are typically solvent-based unless otherwise specified.

The Methylene Chloride or Indirect Solvent Extraction Technique

Methylene chloride is the main chemical compound used in this method of caffeine extraction from coffee beans. Beans must first be soaked in nearly boiling water for several hours to extract caffeine and other compounds. Following this, the beans are typically left to soak in methylene chloride in a separate tank.

Evaporating caffeine from this solvent is the only way to get rid of the remaining molecules. Once that's done, the beans are put back into the water to soak up the flavor and other components.

The Ethyl Acetate or Direct Solvent Extraction Technique

In this process, green coffee beans are steamed for 30 minutes. Steam causes beans to perspire, allowing the solvent to penetrate.

Caffeine is removed from the beans by rinsing them with ethyl acetate for several hours during production. The beans then undergo a second round of steaming to eliminate any lingering chemicals.

A Technique Using Swiss Water

The Organic Crop Improvement Association has approved the Swiss Method, also known as the Swiss Water Process (SWP), which first hit the market in 1988. Osmosis and solubility, rather than chemicals, aid in the process.

First, the coffee beans are dipped into a pot of nearly boiling water, where the caffeine and flavor are released. After that, it goes through a second, independent activated charcoal filter. Caffeine is filtered out of the water while flavor is retained by the filter. Caffeine is typically extracted from a different batch of beans using water that has been reflavored and rescented.

Use of Carbon Dioxide as a Solvent

Large-scale industrial decaffeination of coffee typically employs the carbon dioxide (CO2) process. Its high price makes it impractical to use for decaffeinating less than commercial amounts of coffee. Caffeine is the only substance that CO2 binds to, so the process works.

Caffeine is extracted using carbon dioxide (CO2) under 1,000 pounds of pressure in a stainless steel container, while aroma compounds are preserved. Next, the CO2 containing the caffeine is transferred to a different container, where it is finally released.

Since carbon dioxide is a "natural" substance and the bean retains its aroma components, it is likely to replace other methods in the near future.

Could Decaf Have Any Caffeine?

Decaf coffee still contains some caffeine, despite the name (2). It's still important to be cautious about caffeine use if you have high blood pressure or another condition that necessitates avoiding it.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines state that decaf coffee may still contain up to 3% caffeine.

Let's say you're using a "tall" Starbucks cup, which holds about 350 milliliters (12 ounces) of liquid. A cup of this size, if caffeinated, would contain 180mg of caffeine, while a cup labeled "decaf" might still contain as much as 6mg. Recent studies show that almost all decaffeinated coffee still has trace amounts of caffeine (3).

Therefore, an 8 ounce serving of decaf coffee contains about 7 milligrams of caffeine. If you have a health condition that could be negatively affected by caffeine consumption, you should keep this in mind. This is especially true for conditions like insomnia, anxiety, and cardiovascular disease.

Professor Roland Griffiths D, a professor in the Neurosciences Division at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, elaborates (4).

To be considered decaf in Europe, coffee must have less than 0 Caffeine ranges from about 0. The instant variety only accounts for 3% of the total.

The Swiss Water Process is preferred by Joyride Coffee because it can remove 99 percent of the caffeine from the beans, as stated by the company's chief marketer, Paul Toscano (5). ​

Decaf Coffee: The Benefits and Drawbacks

Both its greatest benefit and its greatest drawback stem from the fact that decaf coffee does not contain caffeine. Therefore, if you drink coffee for the caffeine, you may not enjoy decaf as much. Conversely, decaf is the way to go if you enjoy the coffee's flavor and aroma but would prefer to avoid caffeine for whatever reason.

Decaf coffee is popular, but the process of decaffeination is controversial. Both the Swiss Water Process and the liquid CO2 process have been deemed completely safe by medical professionals, while chemical solvents like methylene-chloride have been deemed less so.

Senior policy analyst and food-label expert for Consumer Report Charlotte Vallaeys explains (6) why and how to avoid solvent-based decaf coffee.

Considerations Concluding

If you are sensitive to caffeine but still want to enjoy the flavor of coffee, decaf is a good option. It's a great alternative when you need to cut back on caffeine because of sleeplessness, pregnancy, or any other reason.

Not even decaf coffee is completely free of caffeine, but the amount you'd consume from drinking just one or two cups a day would be inconsequential. If you're concerned about whether or not your coffee has been chemically processed, look for the "organic" label.

However, if you drink coffee for its energizing and alerting effects, you won't notice the same benefits from decaf. In that case, a cup of regular coffee is your best bet.