Decapéiné coffee

Having become an afternoon ritual for some, or a health "constraint" for others, coffee decaffeinated is becoming more and more popular.

Most of you love the taste and smell of coffee, but don't want to experience the negative effects of caffeine on your body or sleep. (We also advise you to read our article on yerba mate 👀)

Decaffeinated coffee is therefore the obvious choice!

Yes, but what exactly is decaffeinated coffee? And how do you get it? Does it have the same benefits and aromas as regular coffee?

We'll explain everything to you!

Decaffeinated, or decaf for those in the know, is a coffee where 97% of the caffeine has been removed using different extraction mechanisms. We therefore go from a cup with a caffeine level between 70 and 140 mg for a normal coffee, to a cup between 0 and 7 mg for a decaffeinated coffee. A cup of decaffeinated coffee is therefore not entirely caffeine-free, and people who are very sensitive to caffeine should still avoid decaffeinated coffee. However, the difference is obvious enough that it can have an impact on your body if you have sleep problems in particular.

Some of the benefits of decaf may seem pretty obvious. The main one being the low caffeine content.This is already a big advantage for people whose metabolism has difficulty assimilating caffeine. However, you should not increase your coffee consumption just because it is decaffeinated! As mentioned above, there is still a little caffeine in it, and consuming it excessively will give you the same effects as traditional coffee.

On the health side, a decaffeinated coffee affects adenosine much less present in our nervous system: it is a biochemical compound that modulates our sleep-wake cycles. You can therefore have a decaffeinated coffee at the end of the day without it impacting your sleep.

Decaffeinated coffee also retains all the benefits of classic coffee on your health. It should be noted that coffee is rich in magnesium, which helps, among other things, improve cardiovascular and cerebral function, and reduce the risk of diabetes. And components found in both regular and decaffeinated coffee (lignans and chlorogenic acid) have positive effects on glucose metabolism, thus reducing oxidative stress in the body. It also helps protect your liver, thanks to diterpenes, cafestol, and kahweol, all 3 present in regular coffee, which have protective effects against aflatoxin, a toxin harmful to the liver.

Decaffeinated coffee also contains lots of minerals and vitamins such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, sodium and vitamin B3.

One of the big advantages therefore is that decaffeinated retains nutritional and health values ​​well of a classic coffee, as is the taste, since the coffee beans are decaffeinated before being roasted and ground.

As for the disadvantages of decaffeinated coffee, they are the same as for regular coffee.

So, decaffeinated reduces the body's absorption of calcium, or a loss of about 4 to 6 mg of calcium per cup of coffee, which increases the risk of fracture.

Decaffeinated also affects the absorption of non-heme iron (from plants), a problem that mainly affects women. It is therefore advisable to drink decaffeinated coffee (or coffee) about one hour before or two hours after meals, so as not to inhibit the body's absorption of iron.

Decaffeinated coffee first appeared in the early 20th century. Decaffeinating coffee without altering its flavor or flavor is a challenge. coffee remains a fruit and is sensitive to handle. It is therefore a delicate and somewhat traumatic process for a coffee bean.

There are two recognized processes for decaffeinating coffee, each involving different methods: the chemical process And the natural process.

To begin with, let us reassure you that the standards governing chemical decaffeination processes are very strict. They guarantee a minimal level of chemicals that remain in the bean and have no impact on your health. Chemically decaffeinated coffee therefore poses no danger to you. It's just not very popular.
There are two methods for this process:

• The indirect, or European, method.

If you choose, it is probably the best method of the chemical process.
The green beans are soaked in vats of very hot water, which removes the caffeine and flavor-rich oils. A chemical solvent is then added to the same water. As with CO2, the chemical solvent binds to the caffeine. The water is heated to a high temperature so that it evaporates along with the caffeine, while retaining the oils. The decaffeinated, flavor-free beans are then immersed in new vats of water, and the oils are added. The oils are then reintegrated into the beans.

• The chemical method

This is the least expensive and fastest method, and therefore the most widely used commercially. The chemical solvents chosen are usually ethyl acetate or methylene chloride.
The beans are steamed to swell, giving the solvent more surface area to decaffeinate the beans. The coffee beans are then immersed in a vat of water containing the chemical solvent. The beans are filtered and then steamed to remove any remaining water or chemical solvent residue.

After decaffeination, regardless of the method chosen, the decaffeinated coffee beans are dried to return them to a normal humidity level, and then roasted.

As its name suggests, the so-called "natural" process does not involve no chemicalsThere are three methods, which are also the only ones that can produce certified organic decaffeinated coffee, and which best preserve the aromas of the coffee.

• The CO2 method

The carbon dioxide method is similar to that carried out with chemical solvents. It is also rather expensive if it is not used for large quantities. It consists of soaking the green beans in vats of hot water. High-pressure CO2 is then circulated through the vats. This attaches to the caffeine, which is then removed from the beans at the same time. The beans are then filtered, and the water is heated to a high temperature to evaporate the CO2, and preserve the caffeine. It can also be passed through an activated carbon filter.

• The Swiss Water® Process

It is THE most sought-after method and most often used by micro-roasters because it does not use no chemicals, which preserves the aromas of the coffee much better, and it allows to remove 99.99% of the caffeine. Contrary to what one might believe, this method does not involve a magical rinsing of the beans in Swiss spring water, but it does originate from Switzerland. It is the longest method, it takes several dozen hours for the complete process.

One of the major advantages of this method is the recovery of wastewater and caffeine. Since the water is still saturated with coffee particles at the end of the process, it can be used again, and the caffeine is then used in the pharmaceutical and food industries.

It is also interesting to know that a similar, but less widespread, process exists: the mountain water methodThe soaking water is then composed of glacier water, which makes the final product even purer.

Please note that Swiss Water® is a registered trademark, which guarantees the quality of the decaffeinated coffee used thanks to the process logo.

Regarding the process, the green beans are soaked in hot water. This releases the caffeine and coffee oils from the beans. The soaking water then passes through an activated carbon filter. This filter allows the caffeine to be collected without blocking the oils. The soaking water, saturated with oils, then contains no more caffeine. Therefore, when new beans are soaked, they will release the caffeine, but not the oils. This water is then used to continue decaffeinating batches of beans, one after the other! A beautiful ecological method! 🌿

• The cane sugar method

Also called the ethyl acetate method, this method is created from fermented molasses extracted from sugarcane. The fermentation of molasses will in fact naturally create ethanol, which will then be combined with vinegar (acetic acid) and thus give ethyl acetate (A.E.)

As with other processes, the coffee beans are subjected to hot steam to promote caffeine extraction. They are then immersed in a vat of water mixed with ethyl acetate obtained from sugar cane. This natural solvent will bind with the chlorogenic acids in the coffee, thus releasing the caffeine. This operation is repeated for 8 hours. The decaffeinated bean is then rinsed thoroughly with clean water to remove excess ethyl acetate.