Drinking Decaf Coffee? Think Again!
Are you holding a cup of decaf coffee in your hand, and wondering “Is this really healthy for me?” “What is the process by which the caffeine is removed, and does that process decrease the integrity of the bean?” Decaf coffee is an interesting subject, and often gets much attention. We will continue to discuss decaf coffee in depth, to better understand what the actual process is, and if it is bad for our health.
We rely on our coffee in the morning to boost our energy, and get us started for the day. All the coffee I brew is either by "Pour Over, or French Press!" Do you want to brew a better cup of coffee with some of these great brewing methods? Here is a list of the brewing equipment I use! Check them out, and be sure to get your very own brewing set to brew a better cup of coffee. If you want to learn how to brew a better cup of coffee by some of these brewing methods, CLICK HERE!
As a reference, I personally do not drink decaf coffee, due to the reason “It lacks the flavorful notes & nuances of regular coffee,” and also being caffeine affects people differently, (which it doesn’t affect me at all) it gives me the reason to choose the caffeinated option.
What you will be learning in this blog post:
· What is caffeine?
· What are the decaffeination processes
· These Processes Explained
· Final words
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What is Caffeine?
Caffeine is a natural stimulant found in the leaves, seeds, and fruit of the coffee plants/cherries giving the coffee beans its caffeine content. This caffeine stimulates the brain & nervous system helping you stay alert, and preventing tiredness for a period of time. As it comes as no surprise, 80% of the worlds population consumes at least one beverage a day that contains caffeine, which means there are very few of the entire world population that even drink decaffeinated beverages. But here we go talking about Decaffeinated coffee for those people who may be drinking it, because they are coffee drinkers too!
We rely on our coffee in the morning to boost our energy, and get us started for the day. All the coffee I brew is either by "Pour Over, or French Press!" Do you want to brew a better cup of coffee with some of these great brewing methods? Here is a list of the brewing equipment I use! Check them out, and be sure to get your very own brewing set to brew a better cup of coffee. If you want to learn how to brew a better cup of coffee by some of these brewing methods, CLICK HERE!
What are the decaffeination processes?
Decaf coffee is made by removing its caffeine content when the coffee beans are still green, (in terms of) the beans have not yet been roasted. After the coffee beans have gone through the preparation stage for decaffeination, there are a few different methods by which caffeine can be removed.
The decaffeination methods are “Solvent-based,” which uses chemicals such as “Ethyl acetate,” or “Methylene chloride,” & Swiss Water method, which just uses water, time, and temperature.
Remember, don't forget to grab your exclusive offer! This offer is only for my wonderful blog readers, so please don't let this one go! Shop all Freshly Roasted Coffee -here- and use code: FRESHCOFFEE22 to get 30% OFF your first order!
These Processes Explained
Solvent Decaffeination Process
This method of decaffeination uses Ethyl acetate or Methylene chloride solvents to remove the caffeine from the coffee bean. It is done so by these solvents being applied to the green coffee beans directly, or indirectly to dissolve the natural caffeine content in the bean. According to the FDA, these solvents are not harmful to humans, but coffee enthusiasts say that these solvents damage the integrity of the coffee bean, there for ruining the depth & the flavor of the coffee.
Now if you ask my opinion, a decaf coffee that has been decaffeinated by the solvent process is much more harmful than a coffee that has been decaffeinated by the Swiss Water Process especially with all the solvents the coffee is coming in contact with, but lets move on so you can learn about the Swiss Water Process.
We rely on our coffee in the morning to boost our energy, and get us started for the day. All the coffee I brew is either by "Pour Over, or French Press!" Do you want to brew a better cup of coffee with some of these great brewing methods? Here is a list of the brewing equipment I use! Check them out, and be sure to get your very own brewing set to brew a better cup of coffee. If you want to learn how to brew a better cup of coffee by some of these brewing methods, CLICK HERE!
Swiss Water Process
This process can sometimes get confused with “Swiss Mocha” or “Coffee Flavoring.” The Swiss Water Process is a method of removing caffeine from a coffee bean. This method relies on caffeine dissolvability, & osmosis to remove the caffeine. To start this process, the green coffee beans are soaked in hot water to dissolve the caffeine. Now you may be thinking “won’t that affect how the bean will taste in the end?” Not by this process it won’t! To save the flavor, sugar, and oil chemical components that are in coffee to make up its flavorful notes, the coffee beans are passed through a charcoal filter.
Caffeine is a large molecule and gets stuck in the charcoal filter when passing through it, allowing all the sugars, and other oil chemical components to pass through. This water that contains all the sugars, and oil chemical components from the beans is called “Coffee Extract.”
This “Coffee Extract infused water” is then used to soak the next batch of green coffee beans, giving those coffee beans their flavor. This all may sound hard to comprehend, but this process is 100% better in protecting those flavors/notes in coffee beans and is completely free of solvents.
That is why we use the all natural “Swiss Water Decaf” to provide our customers with a quality good tasting cup of coffee. For one, we do not want our Decaf coffee drinkers to go without their morning coffee, and second we don’t want to allow you the opportunity to lift a cup of coffee to your mouth that is full of solvents!
If you are thinking of drinking Decaf coffee, or maybe you are not able to drink Caffeinated coffee but still want your cup of morning coffee, try some of our Columbia Swiss Water Process. It tastes so much better, with all its wonderful flavors, and not only that, it is much healthier for you! CLICK HERE and get 10% OFF your first order using code: SWISSWATERDECAFLETSGO at checkout.
As you can see, the solvent decaffeination process is a lot more damaging to the coffee bean compared to the Swiss Water process. In the event of decaf coffee coming to the table, I would definitely recommend going with a decaf that is decaffeinated by the Swiss Water Process, being that most of its taste profiles, & flavors will still be intact.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post about "Decaffeinated Coffee" I really hope you learned something today, and will come back to check out some of my other blog posts! Be sure to sign up for my email list, to be the first to find out when another blog post is up on the page!
Grab another cup of coffee, and enjoy your day!