Caffeine: Yes or No

Caffeine is a natural element of coffee. Decaffeinated coffee is made from the same beans as regular coffee. The difference is the process used to remove caffeine.

Although the label states that the coffee is decaffeinated, it is impossible to remove all the caffeine. There is generally 3% of the caffeine left in the coffee.

The decaffeination process is performed on unroasted (green) beans. The beans are steamed and then rinsed in a solvent such as ethyl acetate. This chemical has been proven to be a natural solvent. The process is repeated until it meets either the international standard of removing 98% of the caffeine or the European Union standard of being 99.9% caffeine free. There are several methods used for this process.

The Roselius process was invented by Ludwig Roselius and Karl Wimmer in 1903. Coffee beans were steamed in a salt water solution and benzene was used as a solvent to remove the caffeine. Brands which used this method were Cafe Sanka in France and Sanka in the United States. This process is no longer used due to health concerns.

The Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company developed a method by which a batch of unroasted beans is soaked in hot water to release the caffeine. The process continues until all the caffeine and coffee solids are released into the water. The beans are discarded. The water passes through a carbon filter which traps the caffeine molecules but allows the water and the coffee solids to pass through. The caffeine free water is passed through a filtration device and new beans are added. The process is repeated until the caffeine from the new beans is released. The coffee produced from this method is 99.9% caffeine free.

The use of ethyl acetate is considered a natural process because the chemicals are found in various fruits and vegetables. The beans are steamed for thirty minutes and then rinsed with the ethyl acetate. After the solvent is drained, the beans are steamed for an additional ten hours to remove any residual solvent.

Another process uses carbon dioxide. The beans are steamed and then soaked in a liquid bath of carbon dioxide under pressure. After they are thoroughly soaked, the pressure is reduced allowing the carbon dioxide to evaporate. An alternative is to run the carbon dioxide through either water or charcoal filters to remove the caffeine.

Although decaffeinated coffee still contains some caffeine, it is reduced enough so that people who can not drink coffee with caffeine allows them to still enjoy their favorite drink. Because the product label says the coffee is decaffeinated, that does not mean you can drink cup after cup and not feel the effects. Based on research, drinking five to ten cups of decaffeinated coffee would be the same as drinking one or two cups of coffee with caffeine.

A breakthrough occurred in 2004. A naturally caffeine-free bean was discovered in Ethiopia. This may change how decaffeinated coffee is processed.