Decaf Coffee
The average American likes to kick start the day with a good shot of caffeine. But there is also a group that likes to enjoy a nice cup of coffee without the caffeine. So how do you do that? Coffee beans contain caffeine, right? To find out, I immersed myself in the question in this article; “How to make decaffeinated coffee?”
Table of contents
how coffee decaffeinated
There are various methods to ensure that caffeine is released from a coffee bean. It is a process that only takes place afterwards when the coffee beans are ready for use. In the growing process of the coffee bean, nothing is adjusted in the plant. We will discuss 4 methods that are often used or have been used to extract caffeine from coffee beans.
1. Swiss Water Process
This process removes the caffeine in a chemical-free manner. Swiss water only uses temperature, water and time. Care is taken to preserve the original characteristics of coffee.
Image: swisswater.com
2. Direct Solvent Process
In the Direct Solvent process, coffee beans are soaked directly in solvent. Usually ethyl acetate or methylene chloride is used for this, which removes the caffeine. First, green coffee beans are steamed for about 30 minutes. This ensures that the caffeine is released and the pores open. This way they react better to the solvent. Then, they are continuously rinsed for ten hours to remove the caffeine from the beans.
The solvent containing the caffeine is then drained off and the beans are steamed again. This ensures that the residual solvent is additionally removed. Then the coffee beans are roasted (400+ degrees) and brewed (about 200 degrees).
3. Indirect Solvent Process
For the indirect solvent process they use hot water to soak the beans. Then the caffeine is extracted from the beans. But also other flavor elements and oils. The water with the caffeine is transferred to a separate tank and treated with a solvent, mainly methylene chloride where they bond with each other. After this the substance is heated and evaporated. So the solvent never touches the beans. Finally, it is put back into the tank with the beans with flavor elements and coffee oils.
4. The Roselius Process (this on is not used)
During this process, coffee beans were steamed with a brine solution. In other words, water with saturated salt where the solvent Benzene was used to extract the caffeine. This process is now no longer used because Benzene is known as a carcinogen for humans
What is the healthiest way to decaffeinate coffee
If we take a look at the methods we discussed above, the most healthiest method to use to decaffeinate coffee beans is the Swiss Water Process.
This method is chemical-free and is run through with water, temperature at which the time is taken to dissolve the caffeine from the coffee bean. During the process, it is ensured that the coffee retains its important flavor and antioxidants.
Is Decaf really Decaf?
When you think of decaffeinated coffee, you may assume that all caffeine is removed from the coffee beans. Unfortunately, this is not entirely true. Decaf coffee means that the coffee beans are at least 97% decaffeinated.
So, the process broadly removes most of the caffeine, but there will always be a tiny bit of it.
Conclusion
Some people swear by decaf coffee, but others don’t. They go for the ultimate shot with caffeine. However you look at it, it remains interesting how the coffee is made. Decaf does not always have to taste less than normal coffee. Most methods ensure that the most important flavors and aromas are preserved, minus the caffeine. So it shouldn’t affect the taste. There are so much populair coffee drinks. You still can enjoy a decaffeinated cup of coffee.
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