How to Make Decaffeinated Coffee

It's worth starting with the obvious: caffeine is formed in coffee beans naturally, so many consider any decaffeination option unnatural. However, around 10% of coffee lovers worldwide prefer this drink, because they love the taste of coffee, but do not want to get a dose of stimulant. You need to understand how decaffeinated coffee is made to figure out whether it is really healthier for you.

The process of removing caffeine from coffee

Decaffeination is always done on green beans. The problem is to remove only the alkaloid, but at the same time preserve the original amount of other natural substances, which together give us the familiar taste and aroma. There are more than 1000 such substances, and not all of them are known to scientists yet.

Since caffeine is a water-soluble substance, water is always present in all decaffeination processes. However, water alone is not an ideal solution, as it also dissolves sugars and proteins. Therefore, an additional solvent component is used in all processes, such as methylene chloride, activated carbon, CO2 or ethyl acetate - this allows you to speed up the process, remove the alkaloid and preserve more important components. The process of placing in the solvent is repeated 8-10 times.

Decaffeinated coffee does not mean 100% absence of the substance. According to standards, up to 97% or up to 99% (in the EU) of the stimulant should be removed, but a minimal part will still remain.

It's difficult to pinpoint exactly how much caffeine is in a decaffeinated drink: it depends on the processing method, variety, preparation method, and other factors.

A large cup (350 ml) of natural drink contains about 180 mg of stimulant, while decaf of the same volume contains 3-5 mg.

Chain companies purchase different varieties of beans, and as a result, the stimulant content in their decaf drink can vary from 6-8 mg (in McDonald's) to 32 mg (in Dunkin Donuts).

How to Make Decaffeinated Coffee: 4 Methods

Since 70% of all coffee is decaffeinated using solvents, these methods are a good place to start.

Direct method

The coffee beans are steamed for about half an hour to open up all the pores. They are then placed in a solvent (usually ethyl acetate or methylene chloride) for 10-12 hours. The caffeine is transferred to the solvent, the beans are taken out and steamed to remove any remaining chemicals. A minimal amount of solvent may remain in the beans.

Ethyl acetate is a natural substance, it can be obtained from fruits, and in principle, it is not harmful to humans, but the synthetic version is used in industry.

Indirect method

The beans are placed in boiling water, soaked for several hours to release the caffeine. They are then washed with steam, and the water, into which the caffeine has passed along with the aromatic oils, is treated with methylene chloride to remove the suspension. The solvent itself is later removed by evaporation. The beans are then placed in water with the remaining oils so that they absorb the oils and aromatic components.

This method is often called European, German, or Euro-preparation. If you like decaf from Germany or Italy, it was most likely made this way.

Swiss method

This option does not use chemical solvents. The beans are soaked in hot water to remove the caffeine, then the water is passed through a carbon filter with pores that allow the aroma molecules and oils to pass through, but retain the caffeine particles. The result is beans without oils and without caffeine, as well as water without caffeine, but with oils. And this water is used to process a new batch of coffee, but since it is already saturated with oils, the aromas of this fresh batch cannot dissolve; only the caffeine passes to the water. This is how coffee is obtained without the caffeine component, but with the natural preservation of aroma and taste.

Coffee processed using this method is always labelled as “SWISS WATER” Decaf.

As a rule, this is how organic products are processed. The price is high, and such a drink is not sold in regular stores.

CO2, carbon dioxide method

The beans are steamed, then placed in a container with carbon dioxide. The pressure in the container is increased to a critical point, where the carbon dioxide liquefies and begins to release caffeine, acting as a selective solvent. The liquid mixture is then pumped into another container, where the pressure is reduced, and the CO2 becomes a gas again, and the extracted alkaloid is removed.

Features of Decaffeinated Coffee

Finding a really good alternative to the traditional drink is not easy. Ideally, of course, you should order the "Swiss" version, but in specialized stores you can choose something worthy that will suit your taste. The reason for this is related to two problems that not every manufacturer manages to overcome.

Firstly, not only is caffeine removed during extraction: many aromatic compounds are also destroyed, so the taste and smell are weaker. You can either leave them as is, or additionally saturate the beans with aromatic and flavour additives, usually synthetic ones.

Secondly, decaffeinated coffee is difficult to roast because the beans are processed to a brownish hue instead of their natural green. Roasting is difficult to control because the beans react sharply and unpredictably to heat, and they also contain less moisture. As a result, the roast is darker in any case, and this has more of an effect on the taste than the decaffeination method - many compounds are released and evaporated during roasting.

Try to avoid buying beans that are too dark and oily, as they will have minimal aroma and flavor.

Conclusions:

1. Any decaffeinated drink contains between 0.1 and 3% caffeine.
2. For processing the mass product, solvent methods are used - direct and indirect methods, as well as processing with carbon dioxide.
3. The Swiss method does not use solvent compounds, but it is exclusive and expensive.
4. Decaf drinks usually have a weaker aroma and flavor, as these substances are also released during processing.