Suppose you're looking for a coffee alternative that still delivers that rich, satisfying flavour of your favourite caffeinated brew without the accompanying buzz.
In that case, caffeine-removed coffee beans could be your answer. Let's take a closer look at decaf coffee and why it might be a good option for you.
What is Decaf Coffee?
Decaffeinated coffee (or "decaf" as commonly known) is created with the same process as any other type of coffee—it begins in the same way as green coffee beans. However, the green beans are soaked in water before roasting to remove the caffeine.
Coffee drinkers often associate decaf coffees with being less flavoursome because they believe removing caffeine also affects numerous flavour chemicals within the decaf coffee beans.
While this could be true if poor methods are used but when done correctly, the best decaf coffee can even be better than any non-decaf variety.
The History of decaf Coffee Beans
According to Nescafe, Decaf coffee became commercially available in Germany in 1906. Ludwig Roselius, a German coffee merchant and founder of the company Kaffee HAG, believed that his father died of consuming too much caffeine and was determined to develop an alternative without compromising the quality or the taste.
He found the answer by accident when one of his boxes filled with coffee beans got immersed in seawater during transport, and it was discovered that the contact with water resulted in removing most of the caffeine from the beans.
This discovery led Ludwig Roselius to patent a method called the "Roselius Method", which involved steaming coffee to remove caffeine.
While it was pretty successful at the time with coffee roasters, the chemicals used in his method are now considered carcinogenic, so better ways have been invented.
Benefits of Decaf Coffee
The obvious benefit of drinking coffee decaf is that it contains a minimal amount of caffeine compared to its caffeinated counterparts.
This can certainly benefit those who have heart problems, are pregnant or have health issues preventing them from consuming too much caffeine.
One of the other advantages of decaf is that coffee lovers can enjoy more cups of coffee during the day and even late at night after dinner without worrying about being unable to sleep because they consumed too much caffeine.
Some studies have even found various health benefits related to the consumption of coffee, which include:
- Potentially lowering the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
- Possible protection against Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and cognitive decline
- Supporting weight management
- Potentially reducing the risk of depression
So, Decaf Coffee could give all the health benefits of drinking coffee without any side effects caused by consuming too many caffeinated beverages.
Lastly, the decaffeination process removes some bitterness from the coffee beans making decaffeinated coffees to be smoother and have medium acidity compared to their caffeinated counterparts.
This makes drinking decaf coffee an excellent option for those with sensitive stomachs or who find regular coffees too bitter for their taste buds.
In addition, since decaffeinated coffees have had some of their flavours removed during processing (like bitterness), they can bring out more complex and exciting flavours (such as hazelnut, caramel and cinnamon) than regular coffees do.
How is Decaf Coffees Processed?
Direct Solvent Process
The direct solvent process for removing caffeine from coffee involves using chemical solvents, usually ethyl acetate or methylene chloride.
With this method, the whole beans are steamed for approximately 30 mins and then soaked in the chemical solvent for about 10 hours to flush away the caffeine.
It is then rinsed multiple times to eliminate any traces of solvent to finish the process.
This is the most common method used in making decaf coffees, typically sold at your local supermarket.
Indirect Solvent Process
In the indirect method, the green coffee beans are almost boiled for about 10hrs to extract caffeine and some of the flavours into the water.
This water is then separated into a separate container to strip the caffeine using a solvent. Once the caffeine is removed from the water using the solvent, the bean-flavoured solution is reintroduced to the coffee beans, allowing the oils and flavours to be reabsorbed.
CO2 Method
CO2 decaffeination works by injecting liquid carbon dioxide into the coffee beans at very high pressure and temperature, causing it to become supercritical.
The CO2 then acts as a solvent and binds with the caffeine molecules in the coffee beans, extracting them. This decaffeinated coffee is then filtrated to remove any residual CO2, leaving decaf coffee beans that are about 97% caffeine-free.
The advantage of this decaffeination method over the direct and indirect solvent methods is that it does not require chemical solvents and results in a flavour profile closer to the original beans.
Swiss Water decaf method
The Swiss Water process is an innovative method that uses fresh mountain water to decaffeinate coffee beans without chemicals.
Instead of using solvents like methylene chloride or ethyl acetate, the mountain water process relies on a proprietary carbon filter and osmosis to remove the caffeine molecules.
Whole coffee beans are first soaked in hot water to extract caffeine molecules and flavorful components into the water. The resulting flavour-rich water is then put through a carbon filter to capture only the large caffeine molecules.
The decaffeinated flavour-rich water is then reintroduced to the green beans so the flavours can be reabsorbed.
Caffeine is thereby filtered from the beans without recourse to chemical agents and without the beans losing many of their flavorful components. Some of the best decaf coffees are made using this method.
How much caffeine is in decaf coffee?
Decaf beans contain about 5 to 7 milligrams of caffeine, compared to a regular cup of coffee which has about 100 milligrams.
How much caffeine is too much?
Health experts worldwide agree that moderate caffeine consumption can be part of a healthy diet. The general guideline is that an average adult can consume up to 400mg, or approximately 4 to 5 cups of regular coffee daily. You would have to drink many decaf coffees before ever reaching that limit!
Finding Quality Decaffeinated Coffee
When shopping for the best decaf coffee, we recommend buying decaf coffees processed using a chemical-free method such as the Swiss Water Process or CO2 Method.
We prefer Swiss Water Decaf over all other methods and have a smooth and delicious decaf available for purchase online. It has a medium body and bright berry acidity upfront with fruity, dark chocolate and a tasty cocoa finish.
Conclusion
As you can see, high-quality decaf coffee can be as good as regular coffee. The best decaf coffee is processed without any chemicals, and the Swiss Water Decaf method is one of the best utilised today. Best decaf coffee tastes less acidic and is not as bitter as some regular coffee blends.
The green beans we source are certified organic and also rainforest alliance certified. We pack the freshest coffee as whole beans in a one-way valve to ensure we deliver great coffee to your doorstep.