The process of decaffeination dates back to the early 20th century and was first introduced in Germany. There are various methods of removing the caffeine from coffee, but the end result is more or less the same.

 

 

Different types of coffee contain different amounts of caffeine. Depending on the type of coffee and how it is prepared, a 150 ml cup of coffee contains between 70 and 155 mg of caffeine.

Decaffeinated coffee is usually slightly more expensive than caffeinated coffee due to the additional material and labour costs required for the decaffeination process. The coffee beans are decaffeinated before roasting as this is more cost effective and has the least impact on the flavour of the coffee beans.

Since the introduction of decaffeination, various methods have been developed to remove the caffeine from coffee beans without them losing their flavour.

 

The three common methods of decaffeination are water decaffeination, solvent decaffeination and carbon dioxide decaffeination.

 

Water decaffeination

The coffee beans are soaked in water and the caffeine is washed out of the beans.

 

Solvent decaffeination

Solvents containing methyl chloride and ethyl acetate, which are natural components of fruit and vegetables, are used to extract the caffeine from the fresh coffee bean.

 

Carbon dioxide decaffeination

In this method, the carbon dioxide is filtered through activated carbon after it has absorbed the caffeine from the beans and is thus reused.