Because of the caffeine, coffee—and some types of tea and chocolate—work as a great stimulant, but it can also be addictive. And this kind of stimulation can be unwanted for some people. When you just want to feel the taste of coffee, without any changes in the nervous system, you can opt for the decaffeinated version.
The decaf version of coffee prevents numerous physiological changes common to those who drink many cups of the traditional version of the drink, such as anxiety, insomnia and even heart palpitations. However, the process of extracting caffeine from grains is not simple and was only discovered in 1903 – something relatively new in the history of the grain, which has been consumed by mankind for centuries.
It is worth explaining that the decaffeination process should not change the flavor of the coffee. In addition, it is made before the beans are roasted. "Decaffeination happens when the coffee is still green, before it's roasted. If you were to try to decaffeinate roasted coffee, you'd end up making something that tastes like straw," explains Chris Stemman, executive director of the British Coffee association, to the BBC. .
How to remove caffeine from coffee?
According to the International Coffee Organization (ICO), there are four recognized methods of extracting caffeine from coffee beans. Next, check what they are:
Water method;
Ethyl acetate method;
Supercritical carbon dioxide method and liquid carbon dioxide method;
Methylene chloride method.
In common, the four methods share the same steps for treating coffee beans and are only distinguished by the way in which caffeine is extracted.
How is decaf coffee made?
In the first stage of decaffeinated coffee production, regardless of the method chosen, the green coffee beans are swelled in water or steam. It is as if the beans are left to "swell" and, in this process, different substances are added to complete the extraction.
In the ethyl acetate (EA) method, those responsible for the process use a mixture of water and ethyl acetate. "In the container used for extraction, the AE is circulated around the beans soaked in water to extract the caffeine. The mixture of water, ethyl acetate and caffeine is then allowed to drain from the container. This phase is repeated several times , until the residual caffeine content has reached or is below the maximum level allowed by law of 0.1%", details the IOC.
The method that uses carbon dioxide is only made for large-scale production, otherwise it is not economically viable. This is because working with liquid CO2 to extract caffeine requires high pressures and very precise temperatures.
In most cases of caffeine extraction, the next step is steam removal of all potential solvent residues left in the beans. In some cases, regeneration of the adsorbents may also occur. Finally, the decaffeinated beans are dried, which return to their normal moisture content.
It is worth explaining that caffeine extraction technologies are new. This is because the first process, developed by Ludwig Roselius in 1903, was potentially carcinogenic. The risk lay in the use of benzene to dissolve the caffeine in the beans before roasting. Today, methods are safer and do not present this risk.
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