Coffee 101: What is Decaf Coffee

Any bean can go through the decaffeination process, but not every bean should. Decaf coffee is coffee that has gone through a decaffeination process to extract caffeine.  Some beans, like the arabica bean, are higher quality and naturally have a lower caffeine content. Other varietals, like the robusta, are not as high quality and contain higher amounts of caffeine which less desirable for the decaffeination process.

Decaf coffee beans are typically roasted longer and darker once they go through the decaffeination process to make up for the loss of flavor. The structure of a decaffeinated bean is altered after the roasting process, so a beans roast profile has to be specially created for the roasting process. 

How is coffee decaffeinated? 

Coffee beans are harvested, and sent off to be decaffeinated before being sent to a roaster. The beans can go through one of three methods approved by the U.S. Department of Food and Administration. For a bean to be considered decaf, it must have at least 97% of the caffeine removed to meet the FDA standards for coffee. 

3 methods for Decaffeination:

The Direct Contact Method

The beans are steamed prior to caffeine extraction. During the steaming process, their pores open before a solvent containing methylene chloride is added to the water. This solvent seeps into the pores of each bean to bond with the caffeine molecules without extracting all of the other flavor compounds. The beans are then washed and steamed to rinse away the solvent, and then are roasted at over 400°F to evaporate any excess liquid. 

The Swiss Water Process

The Swiss Water Decaffeination process was developed in 1933 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. In 1980 this method became commercialized by Coffex S.A. The Swiss Water process was then introduced by The Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company of Burnaby, British Columbia, in 1988.

The beans are soaked in warm water to create a “flavor-charged water” that will be crucial to introducing the flavors back into the beans. This water is filtered through a charcoal filter that captures caffeine molecules as they’re extracted from the beans during the soaking process. The beans are then soaked in the “flavor-charged water” to reintroduce flavors back into the beans. You’re getting the very best cup of decaf, free of chemicals or residual processing flavors.  This method is often considered the healthiest of decaf coffee options. Swiss Water Decaf is 99.9% caffeine-free which other processes remove 97% of caffeine.

This is how great coffee becomes great decaf with no chemicals.

Pros: No chemicals are used in the Swiss water method.

The Natural Method

The beans are soaked and sealed in a stainless steel tank to soften the shells for extraction. Once the shells have softened enough, a liquid carbon dioxide is forced into the tank at a very high temperature.