What Really Makes Decaf Coffee Decaf?

How do they make decaf coffee?

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A lot of people either like drinking or have to drink decaffeinated coffee. But most people have no idea how it is made. Caffeine is a very powerful chemical that is naturally found n coffee and other foods.

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Decaffeinated coffee or "decaf" is coffee that has most of its caffeine removed. Just because it says decaf it doesn't mean that there is no caffeine in it. By weight, the amount of caffeine found in coffee naturally is only about 1% for Arabica and around 2% for Robusta coffee beans. So when you see a label that says 97% caffeine free that means that 97% of that 1% or 2% has been removed. So how do they do that? Well there are two main methods use for commercially removing caffeine from coffee.

The first method is the "European Process". The European process is the most widely used process out there. The coffee is made deface by using a chemical process that involves soaking the beans in water and then washing them in methylene chloride to absorb the caffeine from the beans. After doing that they rinse the beans clean of all of the chemicals then dry them, There are some advantages of using this method one of which is this method provides decaf coffee with more flavor. Even though there are virtually no traces of any chemicals left after roasting some people are still uncomfortable knowing that the coffee they are consuming was chemically processed.

The second process is called "Swiss Water Process". The Swiss Water Process is chemical free. The use hot water and steam to remove the caffeine from the coffee bean. The beans are put into the water and them the water solutions is run through activated charcoal filters to remove the caffeine. Once the caffeine is removed the beans are then put back into the water that has been cleared of the caffeine to reabsorb everything including the flavor. The beans are then dried and sent to a roaster,. The disadvantage of using this process is that it removes more than just the caffeine including the essential oils. This process tends to leave the coffee beans with less flavor but it uses no chemicals.

If you are concerned with the chemical aspect of decaffeinated coffee I would suggest finding coffee that has been decaffeinated using the Swiss water process. As long as the company uses a high quality Arabica coffee bean you won't even notice the difference of flavor!

What Really Makes Decaf Coffee Decaf?

Jenny Dixie loves reading and writing, especially when she can educate people on their favorite topics. She also loves decorating and finding the perfect Candy Wrapper Purser for everyone that is looking for a cute new purse.

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