How Do Coffee Beans Become Decaffeinated?

Coffee is always great, but sometimes you want a cup of joe and not the caffeine that comes with it. Maybe it’s late in the day and the caffeine will keep you up all night. Maybe you’ve already had several cups and don’t want to get those caffeine jitters. Or maybe you are just trying to cut down on your caffeine intake in general. Regardless of your reasons, sometimes, when that craving for hot bean juice hits, it’s nice to have the option for a cup of decaf! But how exactly does coffee become decaffeinated? We are here to explain! 

There are four different methods for removing caffeine from coffee beans. The first two methods used are solvent-based processes which use chemicals for extraction. However, when it comes to these methods, there have been many health scares surrounding the chemicals used in the past. Because of this, the coffee industry now uses just two chemicals, methylene chloride and ethyl acetate, to remove the caffeine from coffee beans, should they opt for one of these solvent-based decaffeination methods in the first place. Even with these adjustments though, there is no denying, solvent-based removal processes are down in usage.

The second two methods are non-solvent-based processes, which use water or carbon dioxide as agents to remove the caffeine, with the most popular being the Swiss Water Process (SWP). This is because water is the key agent in this process, as opposed to chemicals. It is also the only method that can be used to make decaf coffee and still be called "Organic”, as it uses osmosis to extract caffeine molecules.

As with all decaf processes the SWP begins with the green coffee bean (e.g. the unroasted coffee cherry – to learn more about these coffee cherries check out our blog “The Invention Of Coffee”). The SWP then takes those beans and soaks them in very hot water to create a green coffee extract. This water solution is next passed through a carbon filter which traps the caffeine molecules, allowing the flavor filled water to pass through while trapping and extracting the caffeine molecules. This results in flavorless, decaffeinated, green, coffee beans which are discarded. Meanwhile, the water from the first soak is used for the next batch of green coffee beans, and the process is repeated. However, this time the water has already absorbed the flavor from the previous batch, so only caffeine will transfer into the water, leaving the green coffee beans caffein-less yet intact, and ready to be roasted to become actual decaffeinated coffee to be brewed. 

That said, if you have ever wondered why it is difficult to get a good tasting cup of decaf coffee, it is because the resulting, green, decaffeinated, beans, begin to turn brown in color after soaking in the hot water, making them difficult to control during the roasting process, resulting in a less curated coffee taste and experience. So, may we suggest, if you’re looking for coffee with less caffeine, perhaps try a coffee with espresso instead! As counter intuitive as it may seem, a single shot of espresso has about 40% less caffeine than a regular cup of coffee. So, if you’re looking to cut back, skip the regularly brewed coffee and opt for a single shot latte or americano instead!

Want to learn more interesting facts about coffee? Check out our blog: 15 Facts That Make Coffee Cooler!