Carbon dioxide is natural and everywhere, you’re breathing it out right now in fact. Carbon dioxide makes an ideal solvent for caffeine, making it possible to decaffeinate coffee naturally without chemicals, while retaining all the valuable flavor and aroma of the coffee. We like this process and some of our decaf options use this method because all that is used is water and natural charcoal (a great natural filter).Ĭarbon dioxide method, the newest process uses an ingredient particularly important to our environment. This method is definitely superior to the benzol method in final taste and health effects. Therefore, only the caffeine in the bean is allowed to escape whereas the rest of the compounds are in equilibrium. The principle of water processed decaf coffee is that the solution is saturated with all components soluble in water other than caffeine. The caffeine-free mixture is concentrated and added to the partially dried coffee beans. Because the charcoal has been pre-treated, the amount of coffee components that would otherwise be retained in the charcoal bed is reduced. The caffeine-rich water is then run through a pre-treated charcoal bed to remove the caffeine. During this process, coffee beans are soaked for hours in water that draws out the caffeine.
The Swiss Water process was created in the 1970’s due to health concerns surrounding the original method. The heat, of course would negatively impact the flavor of the brew and the use of benzol, a coal-tar product, does not sound particularly health or appetizing. Invented in Germany in 1906, the original methylene chloride decaffeination process superheats the raw (green) coffee beans, then floods them with solvent benzol leaving the beans caffeine free. But let’s take a quick look at a few other decaffeination methods. Therefore the water decaffeination process is relatively benign. Since ethyl acetate is found naturally in fruits you will hear people call this process “natural.” In any case the solvent never comes in contact with the coffee bean itself, but only the water solution containing the caffeine that was previously extracted from the coffee bean. The solvents commonly used in commercial production are methylene chloride or ethyl acetate, which both have a low boiling point. We believe these are safe and effective methods compared to the other options because of their use of natural compounds.Īlmost every process for decaffeination consists of soaking the beans in water to dissolve the caffeine, extracting the caffeine with either a solvent or activated carbon, and then re-soaking the coffee beans in the decaffeinated water to re-absorb the flavor compounds that were lost in the initial extraction. While, all three methods are FDA approved, Old City Coffee only carries Swiss Water and CO2 decaf varieties. During any of the decaffeinating processes, the molecular composition of the bean is altered, thus resulting in a darker bean. Three techniques are used to decaffeinate coffee, methylene chloride, Swiss Water and carbon dioxide. While coffee itself has been around for centuries, decaf has only existed for the last 100 years. Then there is the myth that even decaf has some caffeine. For starters, there are a few different methods for decaffeination, each with pros and cons. Others may find it shrouded in some mystery, thinking “how do they even get the caffeine out?” or “doesn’t decaf taste bad?”. What to do? Well, there is always decaf, right? Some serious drinkers find decaf taboo. We know how it feels, because we are pretty serious coffee nuts as you would imagine. But even the most extreme coffee aficionados have to take it easy once the sun starts getting low. For coffee lovers, nothing beats the energizing buzz and delicious flavors of freshly roasted and brewed Arabica.
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