Decaffeinated coffee – what is it and how is it made?

Decaffeinated coffee and caffeine

First, let's present some facts. Coffee is the second most popular drink in the world, after tea. Historians believed that the stimulant coffee originated in ancient Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Caffeine is one of the components of coffee, responsible for its mild effect on the central nervous system. A 180 ml cup of coffee usually contains approximately 50 to 75 mg of caffeine, although this amount varies depending on the preparation method and type of coffee. For example, Robusta contains almost twice as much caffeine as Arabica.

Is caffeine unhealthy?

Although caffeine in its natural form is not dangerous to us (it would take ~70 cups of coffee a day for it to be life-threatening), after the fourth or fifth cup it can cause some unwanted effects, such as decreased sleep quality and accompanying feelings of anxiety.

Maybe decaffeinated coffee?

Decaffeinated coffee allows us to enjoy the taste of a cup of coffee without any adverse effects.

*"decaf" does not mean it is 100% caffeine free. In fact, decaf coffee is only required to be 97% caffeine free according to the USDA. This means that an average 355ml cup of decaf coffee, which might have originally contained 180mg of caffeine, would now only contain 5,4mg. (all decaffeinated coffees usually contain between 2 and 5 mg).

So let's continue with the obvious mention that there is not yet a known coffee variety that contains decaffeinated cherries. This is why any method of eliminating it (no matter how good) is considered unnatural by many coffee lovers. Some even go so far as to say that it goes against the natural order of things.

However, it is certainly worth noting that one of the trends observed in recent years is the increased popularity of decaffeinated coffee. Currently, about 12% of coffee lovers would like to enjoy a cup of good coffee, but without the stimulating effect of caffeine. Decaffeinated coffee no longer means tasteless coffee. So let's take some space now to explain what makes decaf... good decaf.

Can decaffeinated coffee be good?

Time for a sad digression: finding tasty decaf coffee is the exception rather than the norm. This comes down to two difficult issues to overcome.
First, the decaffeination process tends to destroy many of the flavor components that contribute to the sensory character of roasted coffee.

Secondly, decaffeinated coffees are much more difficult to roast. The reason for this is that decaffeinated, unroasted coffee beans come out brown rather than green. This causes problems for coffee roasters when roasting because they react inconsistently and excessively to the heat applied during roasting. In addition, they have a less bonded structure, which causes them to burn faster. So when push comes to shove, we have to contend with unroasted "green" beans, which tend to roast darker and faster than uncaffeinated beans.

After all, in our smoking room El Gato Coffee Roasters we ensure the highest quality of firings. Our decaffeinated coffee reflects the flavors and aromas locked in raw beans. We often find here not only the taste of nuts or chocolate, but also all kinds of fruit, such as: orange in decaffeinated coffee Nicaragua Fincas Mierisch Los Placeres.

However, all is not lost

Can decaffeinated coffee taste like regular coffee? Yes! The key to great decaffeinated coffee (and you won't even think it's decaffeinated!) is using a natural, non-toxic decaffeination process and great green beans. Each green coffee bean contains approximately 1000 naturally occurring chemicals that influence the taste and aroma of the roasted bean.

During the decaffeination process, caffeine is extracted from the beans using chemicals or water and/or pressure. This means an additional processing step that incurs additional labor and operating costs compared to regular coffee. The challenge with decaffeination is to remove the caffeine without reducing, altering or removing the other naturally occurring chemicals that simply make up "coffee."

How is decaffeinated coffee made?

There are three main caffeine removal processes used today. They have some fundamental similarities. Before we look at a specific caffeine removal process, let's consider what they have in common:

• Coffee is always decaffeinated in its green, unroasted form.

• This process is carried out everywhere at moderate temperatures - usually in the range of 70 to 100 degrees Celsius.

• Because caffeine is a water-soluble substance, water is used in all forms of decaffeination.

• However, water itself is not the best solution. It does not have the properties of a "selective" solvent and therefore, in addition to caffeine, it removes other soluble substances such as sugars and proteins. The solution is to use a decaffeinator (such as methylene chloride, activated carbon, CO2 or ethyl acetate). These measures speed up the process and minimize the "washout" effect of decaffeinated coffee flavor that would certainly result from using only water.

So what are the three methods for removing caffeine?

There are three main methods of removing caffeine from coffee:

• removing caffeine with water

• removing caffeine using a solvent

• caffeine removal using supercritical carbon dioxide

Does decaffeinated coffee really have no caffeine at all?

EU regulations set a maximum caffeine content of 0,1% after any decaffeination process, which means that 99,9% of the caffeine must be removed. The removed caffeine is then collected as a powder and compressed into chalk sticks. It is used in the pharmaceutical industry (e.g. flu tablets), food industry (e.g. cola, energy drinks) or is sold in powder form.
As some of you may have already noticed, the appearance of coffee beans containing caffeine differs significantly from those without it. And although all the aromatic and aromatic compounds remain locked in the coffee "chamber", these beans tend to turn chocolate in color with a dark central cut.

Where to buy good decaffeinated coffee?

In our roastery, we only roast beans where the caffeine has been removed with water or carbon dioxide. You can buy decaffeinated coffee here shop in various forms, i.e.:

• coffee beans, e.g. decaffeinated coffee Nicaragua Fincas Mierisch Los Placeres

• ground coffee – here, on request, we can freshly grind coffee according to your preferences

• decaffeinated coffee in sachets Decaffeinated dripca