How Is Decaf Coffee Made?

Decaf coffee has become very popular among regular coffee drinkers. Whether you’re sensitive to caffeine, cut down your coffee intake or simply enjoy decaf after dinner, nowadays you can enjoy a delicious cup of coffee free from caffeine. But how is coffee decaffeinated and what does decaf mean? Let’s find out how and take a look at different methods behind producing decaffeinated coffee beans.

What Does “Decaf” Mean?

Technically, decaffeinated coffee still contains caffeine. According to international standards, commercial products labelled as decaffeinated must have at least 97% of their caffeine removed. So on average, a cup of decaf will contain about 2–5 mg caffeine, whereas a regular cup will have around 70–140 mg.

For most people who drink coffee that doesn’t cause a problem and makes decaf a great alternative to regular coffee.

When is Coffee Decaffeinated?

The decaffeination process happens before beans are roasted. Coffee beans are much more porous in their green (raw) form. While caffeine is extracted, it’s important not to damage compounds that give coffee its flavour and aroma.

Methods may differ, but overall process of decaffeination has several common steps:

• The beans are moistened or steamed.
• Caffeine is extracted.
• The beans are dried and ready to be roasted.

Regardless of the technique, all methods aim to remove as much caffeine as possible without affecting coffee’s character.

Solvent-Based Decaffeination Methods

Solvent-based decaffeination methods are some of the most common methods used. It utilises food-safe compounds such as ethyl acetate or methylene chloride which binds only with caffeine.

There are two variants of solvent process:

Direct: 

The beans are steamed and rinsed with solvents to extract the caffeine. Beans are steamed once again to remove any remaining solvents.

Indirect:

Beans are soaked in hot water first, where caffeine and flavour both dissolve into water. Liquid is then filtered using solvent that binds to caffeine and strips it from the water. Then water rich with flavour is absorbed back into the beans. Solvent methods are effective ways to keep beans’ flavour intact and as mentioned before the chemicals used are strictly regulated for consumer safety and completely removed during processing leaving very minute traces far below safety limits.

Swiss Water Process

The Swiss Water Process uses no chemicals at all. Completely pure water, temperature and time are used to decaffeinate coffee. Beans are soaked in hot water and just like with the solvent method, both caffeine and flavour compounds are dissolved into water. Water then passes through a carbon filter that traps caffeine molecules but allows flavour components to pass through.

What’s left behind is called flavour-rich solution. Beans are then put into that solution and similar to ordinary osmosis process, caffeine is extracted out of beans but due to concentration of flavour in that water, flavour isn’t. Methods rely purely on the osmosis process and since there are no chemicals used it is very popular among organic and specialty coffees but can be slower and more expensive than other methods.

CO₂ Process

Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) process is a relatively newer method that uses pressurised CO₂. Also known as the supercritical CO₂ process. Green coffee beans are put into a chamber with liquid CO₂ being pumped around them at high pressure. Under pressure CO₂ bonds with caffeine molecules but ignores most of the flavour compounds. CO₂ is then disposed of safely (or reused) and beans are now ready to be dried and roasted. This process has been known to very effectively remove caffeine while leaving most of the bean’s flavour intact. However since it requires special machinery and equipment it’s mostly used commercially.

 

Does Decaf Coffee Taste Different?

Decaf coffee has been known for not tasting as good as regular coffee and for having lost its flavour. This used to be true in the past, but with better decaffeination processes and higher standards for taste, the difference between regular coffee and decaf has become less noticeable. With good coffee beans and proper care while decaffeinating and roasting, the difference in taste can be very subtle. 

Some people may notice decaf coffee having:

• Lighter body.
• Less acidic.
• Softer aroma and flavour.

With the proper decaffeination process, high quality coffee beans and roasting, decaf coffee can taste great!

Is Decaf Coffee Healthy?

Decaf coffee is perfectly safe to drink. All methods used to decaffeinate coffee are heavily regulated to make sure you’re getting a safe product to consume. Even when solvent-based methods are used, the amount of chemical used is controlled during the decaffeination process and once removed from beans there’s only trace amounts remaining far below limits. Decaf coffee also still contains many of the beneficial compounds that regular coffee has to offer such as antioxidants.

Enjoy Your Coffee Anytime

Whether you’re looking to cut down on your caffeine intake or just looking to enjoy a cup of coffee late at night, decaf coffee allows you to enjoy your coffee anytime. And since there are many different ways to decaffeinate coffee, more options than ever are available to you. At Gimoka, we want you to enjoy great tasting coffee anytime. So we’ve decaffeinated one of our Italian coffee blends so you can enjoy a delicious cup of coffee without caffeine.

Discover our Espresso Decaffeinato pods.