Decaffeination Overview

Caffeine is a naturally occurring chemical found in leaves, seeds and fruit of more than 63 species of plants grown in all parts of the world.  It is found in coffee, tea and chocolate (cocoa).  Caffeine acts as a mild stimulant to the nervous system. Scientific evidence however, shows no human health problems caused by normal coffee drinking. 

As the name indicates, the decaffeination process removes caffeine from the green coffee beans prior to roasting. Since green coffee does not have the flavours present in roasted coffee, decaffeination is carried out on green coffee in order to minimize its effect on flavour. 

The 4 Basic Methods Of Decaffeination Are:

Decaffeination usually involves the use of a solution containing water and coffee flavor elements, plus a decaffeinating agent. What distinguishes a good decaffeination agent is its ability to remove caffeine while leaving the remainder of the coffee components in the bean so they are available for flavour development during roasting.

1. European Process

Methylene chloride is a solvent used in both the direct and indirect decaffeination methods. The methylene chloride process is thought by some in the coffee industry to maintain coffee flavour better than other processes. Based on extensive research data, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has determined that methylene chloride is safe for use in coffee decaffeination.

2. Natural Process

Ethyl acetate (Acetic ester) is a material that occurs naturally in many fruits. It can also be made commercially from two natural products, ethyl alcohol and acetic acid. In the decaffeination process, ethyl acetate is added to water in which coffee beans are soaking or to coffee beans which have been steamed. Caffeine from the coffee beans is drawn out and dissolves in the ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate –caffeine solution is then drained away from the beans, and residual amount of ethyl acetate are removed from the beans by heating and evaporation.

3. CO₂ Process

CO₂ in a pressurized liquid form is circulated through the coffee beans to remove the caffeine. The caffeine from the coffee beans dissolves the CO_2.

4. Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee

The Swiss Water process is a patented, consumer branded green coffee decaffeination process.The 100% chemical free process uses only water from the Coast Mountains to extract the caffeine. Flavor charged water captures the caffeine while protecting the coffee origin body and flavour characteristics. The coffee is now 99.9% caffeine free, ready for roasting.