Equipment & Quality
How Is Decaf Coffee Made?
Decaffeinated coffee is made by removing caffeine from green coffee beans before roasting, through one of several methods. The most common specialty methods are the Swiss Water Process and the Ethyl Acetate or Sugarcane Process, both of which remove caffeine without using harsh chemical solvents. The older methyl chloride and ethyl acetate methods are still used for commodity decaf but less common in specialty contexts.
In the Swiss Water Process, green beans are soaked in water that has been saturated with the soluble compounds of coffee except caffeine. Caffeine migrates out of the beans into the water, while other flavor compounds remain because the water is already saturated with them. The resulting beans retain most of their original character while being 99.9 percent caffeine-free. In the sugarcane method, the natural solvent ethyl acetate — derived from sugarcane fermentation — selectively removes caffeine from pre-steamed beans.
Specialty decaf has come a long way from the lifeless beverages of earlier decades. Well-decaffeinated specialty coffee, processed with care and roasted attentively, can produce cups nearly indistinguishable from their caffeinated counterparts. Café de Volcán respects decaf as a legitimate way to enjoy specialty coffee, and views the quiet improvements in decaffeination technology as one of the welcome developments in modern specialty coffee.
