subject: Coffee Decaffeination [print this page] Coffee Decaffeination Coffee Decaffeination
The Coffee beans are decaffeinated by softening the bean and using a substance to extract the caffeine. The water alone cannot be used because, the strips have too much of the flavor. The goal is to extract the caffeine with minimal loss of the flavor. The important substances used to remove the caffeine may directly or indirectly process with the beans and so it is referred as direct or indirect decaffeination.
The Methods of Decaffeination:
The Decaffeinated coffee is in demand to most of the people and can enjoy the taste of coffee. There are several processes which makes the coffee decaffeinated. Nowadays, most of the people use water decaffeination, because it is considered as the healthiest process. One of the earliest methods to produce the decaffeinated coffee is the branded pattern.
There are basically two methods of decaffeination. They are, direct and indirect contact. The coffee beans directly contact with the decaffeinating agents and are softened by the steam. In the later method, the water and the coffee solution is normally used to draw off the caffeine. Then after separating the beans, the solution containing the caffeine is treated with a decaffeinating agent. In both methods, the additional agent is carefully removed from the final product.
Agents of Decaffeination:
There are some of the important agents commonly used in decaffeinating coffee. They are,
Methylene Chloride:
The solvent may be used in two ways to decaffeinate the coffee. In this direct contact method, the untasted green beans are placed in a rotating drum and are softened by steam for approximately 30 minutes. Then they are repeatedly rinsed for about 10 hours with the methylene chloride, which removes the caffeine easily from the beans.
Ethyl Acetate:
This decaffeinating process is often referred to as a "natural" process, because the ethyl acetate is a compound found in many fruits, such as apples, peaches, and pears. This process is similar to the indirect contact method using the methylene chloride, but the ethyl acetate requires more time to absorb the caffeine.
Charcoal or Carbon:
In this indirect contact method, the unroasted beans are soaked in hot water to draw the caffeine. The resulting solution which contains the caffeine, other flavors and aroma elements are separated from the beans which are sent through a bed of activated charcoal or carbon filters to remove the caffeine.
Triglycerides:
In this process, the Green coffee beans are soaked in a hot water and the caffeine are drawn to the surface of the beans. Then the beans are transferred to another container and immersed in the coffee oil container to get the pure flavor and quality.
Supercritical Carbon Dioxide:
In this direct contact method, the green beans are first softened by steam to bring caffeine to the beans surface.
Most of the coffee companies are happy to share the information about their decaffeinated process. The decaffeinated coffee contains only a residual amount of caffeine, so coffee drinkers can use this reduced caffeine content. The Caffeine is about 97% reduced by the decaffeination processes, but the decaffeinated coffee is not completely caffeine-free.
