Decaf: How to Have Your Calm and Drink Coffee, Too
Picture this: it’s a chilly, rainy afternoon and you’re on the road. You drive by your favorite local coffee shop and can’t help but stop for a cup to warm you up. You glance at your watch - 4:00 pm, too late for a cup of coffee if you want a good night’s sleep. What do you do?
Many of us know and love caffeine, and get our daily dose from our morning (and afternoon!) cup of coffee. But you don’t have to love the energy boost to love a good cup of joe - for medical or lifestyle reasons, some would rather go without caffeine some or all of the time. Enter: Decaf, the hero of coffee lovers who could do without the jitters.
Decaffeination Nation
There are two primary methods used to decaffeinate coffee: water processed and chemical processed. We’ll be discussing water processed here, as that’s the method that most local coffee roasters (including Swift River) prefer for best quality and taste.
Here’s how water processed coffee works:
Green, or unroasted, coffee beans are soaked in temperature-controlled water. The caffeine (and flavor) moves from the bean to the water through osmosis. When starting the process from scratch, the first batch of now flavorless beans is discarded, leaving behind a strong solution of green coffee flavor and compounds.
The solution is filtered to remove the caffeine, leaving behind caffeine-free green coffee extract.
The process is repeated with the next batch of green coffee beans, but instead of pure water, the beans are soaked in the green coffee extract. The caffeine dissolves into the water and extract, but the flavor remains in the bean. The green coffee extract can be used again and again to decaffeinate more beans.
That’s it! Just water, temperature, and time.
It’s worth noting that the decaffeination process doesn’t remove every single bit of caffeine, but it does get pretty close. Estimates vary, but decaf coffee typically has about 97% of the caffeine removed, leaving 2-3 mg of caffeine per cup - almost negligible considering that even dark chocolate contains about 12 mg per ounce.
What About the Taste?
Removing caffeine does change the bean slightly - remember that caffeine has a distinct taste, so the flavor of decaf will be a bit different from regular coffee. Decaf coffee beans also roast differently than unprocessed beans, and might not hold up as well at a higher roast temperature. That being said, the difference is often minimal, and a quality roaster will have the same dedication to their decaf as they do their regular blends.
It’s also important to add that there’s no single decaf coffee. Just like regular coffee, the origin, blend, and roast level of the beans will drastically affect the taste of the brewed coffee. It’s worth experimenting - you may find that your favorite decaf blend is different from your favorite regular coffee.
Give it a Shot
Swift River Coffee has a variety of decaf coffee available, from blends like our Signature Roast to single origin and fair trade coffees. We also offer a decaf version of our River Rocks Espresso for your latte and flavored coffees for those looking for a hint of something different. And if you’d like to cut down on caffeine but still want a little bit of a kick, try Half Decaf!
We believe that a great cup of coffee doesn’t have to keep you up at night.