How They Get the Caffeine Out to Create Decaf Coffee

Although many enjoy a good cup of coffee, they often do not want the caffeine related with the beverage in their system. When this is the case, a large number of people will opt for a great cup of decaf.

Decaffeinated coffee is coffee that has had the majority of its caffeine taken out. Typically when calculated by weight, the amount of caffeine naturally occurring in coffee is actually only about 1% for the Arabica and 2% for the Robusta type of coffee beans.

By this token, when a package of coffee says that it is 97% caffeine free, that means that 97% of the 1% or 2% of the caffeine has been removed. At this time, there are two methods that are used to remove caffeine from coffee.

The first way of removing caffeine from coffee is known as the European process. This is the main way that decaf coffee is made. It is a chemical process that originated in Europe.

With the European process, beans are first soaked in water and then are washed in methylene chloride. This allows the caffeine to be absorbed out of the bean. The beans are then rinsed to be free of chemicals, dried thoroughly and sent off to the coffee roasters.

The European process leaves the decaf coffee with a lot more flavor than the other process of creating decaf coffee, which is the Swiss water method.

Even though the beans are cleaned well, and there is practically no amount of chemicals left on the bean when roasting is completed, some people still do not like the fact that they are drinking coffee that has been processed with chemicals.

The second method for creating decaf coffee is known as the Swiss water process. It is the favorable method for many because this process for creating decaf coffee does not use any chemicals. Instead, hot water and steam are used to remove the caffeine from the coffee. Also, with the Swiss water process, green coffee extracts are used and this extract is virtually caffeine free.

For the Swiss water process, the bean is placed into water and the water solution goes through activated charcoal filters, which then in turn remove the caffeine. After the caffeine has been removed, the beans are placed back into the decaffeinated solution and allowed to absorb everything but the caffeine. After this, the beans are dried very well and shipped to the roasters.

The Swiss water process has the drawback of at times removing more from the bean than only the caffeine. Now and again, some of the oils from the coffee bean are also removed. This unfortunately can leave the coffee without as much flavor.

The best thing to do if someone wants a decaf coffee using the Swiss water process, is to start out using a top of the line Arabica bean. This way, even if some of the flavor is lost during the process, they will still be left with a coffee that has an outstanding amount of flavor.

It is also important to note that coffee beans treated by the Swiss water process method are often a greater cost than those beans that have been treated with a chemical solution. This is because of the fact that higher quality Arabica beans are used so that flavor is not compromised.

Like all other coffee, the decaf kind that you like will be a personal preference matter of taste. Whether you want to try decaf coffee that is made using the Swiss water process or the European process, chances are, you will have to try a cup from a few different brands before you settle on a favorite.