No Respect for Decaf

Let’s face it, decaf coffee drinkers get no respect. But should they? There has been plenty of trash talk about those who drink decaf and famous quotes like ”Death before decaf” or “Wanna hear a joke?…..Decaf ” Yep, keep laughing but the jokes go on.  At Banyan Coffee we are not here to bash any coffee drinker but to caffeinate & de-caffeinate you . That’s why we carry our Decaf Guatemala beans. So why do people give decaf a bad rap? Well most people drink coffee to get caffeine. That’s the most logical way of thinking about it. Coffee is an acquired taste. Most of the time people first drink coffee and don’t care for it. We would agree! One of our first experiences with coffee was because we were at a small local airport and the only options were water and airport coffee. It wasn’t our best coffee experience, but we don’t blame it for being Folgers coffee sloshing around in the day old coffee pot. Since coffee clearly is an acquired taste people who drink decaf must really like coffee. It’s not as if this drink is sweet like soda or orange juice, rather it’s bitter. They genuinely must enjoy coffee because they aren’t after the caffeine kick. Many people can’t have caffeine because of some kind of underlying health reason.  Strangely enough they still feel that a warm bold flavor of coffee in the morning can still be stimulating like regular coffee.

Decaf tastes different, but why? Decaf coffee is made from the same beans as regular coffee that contains thousands of chemicals. When coffee is processed to decaffeinate, the coffee beans not only lose caffeine content but they lose some other chemical components of the coffee during this process. The result is a change in taste profile and scent of the coffee aroma. The taste can be different based on many factors such as the way coffee is decaffeinated and the type of coffee bean. Types of decaffeinating processes include Ethyl Acetate, Methylene Chloride, Swiss Water Process, and Co2 Process

Methylene Chloride (MC) is a solvent way to decaffeinate coffee by the use of a chemical. Early on with decaf solvents were considered high health risks  because of the use of toxic chemicals like Benzene or Chloroform. The use of Methylene Chloride is considered a low risk chemical by the FDA and has a good chance of being eliminated when you roast to 400 degrees. However, the jury is still out regarding this chemical process. The process consists of soaking the green coffee beans in hot water to extract the caffeine from the beans. The beans are removed from the water and the Methylene Chloride is added to the water. Once done the beans are placed back into the water/Methylene Chloride mixture. At this point most of the caffeine is eliminated.

Ethyl acetate (EA) decaf process is a natural method by the use of steaming the coffee bean, then soaking in water with Ethyl Acetate which comes from fermentation of sugarcane. Once it’s done soaking it then returns to steaming to remove any remaining ethyl acetate.  Ethyl Acetate is only harmful with high amounts.

Swiss Water Process Coffee (SWP) is the way we prefer our decaf coffee at Banyan Coffee. This is a chemical free process that does small batches of green coffee extraction after the coffee has been soaked. When the coffee is soaked they use charcoal filters to trap caffeine molecules because they are much bigger than the other molecules that retain flavors such as sugars and oils. This method creates the green coffee extraction that retains the coffee flavor profile. The process gives decaf roaster and consumer a more healthy option and a much better flavor.

Carbon Dioxide method (CO2) uses Co2 liquid instead of a solvent. It focuses solely on caffeine by being soaked in a stainless steel container which is pressurized to extract the caffeine. Caffeine is then dissolved from the coffee and leaves most of the flavor behind. The caffeine/Co2 is released into a separate chamber in a gas state leaving the bean separated from its caffeine. This process requires a larger operation for commercialized coffee. 

Decaf is becoming more popular with people because of the new decaffeinating methods. As decaf coffee develops healthier options and better taste profiles it will continue to gain popularity. In fact some day we may be able to create a decaf coffee that tastes the same as regular coffee. The next time you’re in the coffee shop ask what kind of decaf process they carry. If they carry any kind of decaf water process chances they have a good decaf.