Decaf or regular coffee -- that is the question

by Brian White (Subscribe to Brian White's posts)
Jan 23rd 2007 3:44PM

I dumped caffeine in soft drinks long, long ago, but still am a somewhat-slave to coffee (two cups a day). Although I've recently switched to decaf (a few months ago), some recent research has caused me to re-think that position due to some of the processes I have uncovered that are used to "decaffeinate" coffee beans -- is it natural?

There are more than a few ways to make coffee beans "decaf" -- and the chemical process used is not a huge bother -- but it is something to consider.

Would you rather drink decaf and have potential exposure to chemicals used in the decaf process or drink regular, leaded coffee and get the caffeine dose that starts so many mornings? I'm still in limbo.

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Comments (3)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

yaya 1-24-2007 @ 9:32AM

I would stick with regular coffee. They wash those decaf beans with all kinds of chemicals, and besides, caffeine really isn't that bad for you. Instead of two cups a day, try to replace one cup with a cup or two of tea.

Hone Money 1-24-2007 @ 12:58AM

I've yet to be convinced that coffee in moderation is bad.

Its important to have freshly ground coffee for the anti-oxidants.

Brian 1-25-2007 @ 10:06PM

There are several ways coffee is stripped of caffiene. The most common and cheapest way is with solvents. The most common solvent is ehtyl acetate. This is an organic compound derived from banana peels. After the beans have been soaked in the solvent, they are then washed with fresh water. There are trace amounts of solvents left, but they are completely burned off in the roasting process at 350 degrees. There are other natural ways to decaffienate coffee. Swiss water is a patended method in Germany. All the beans travel to Germany, go through the process, and then distributed to other contries. Very expensive, and less flavor. There is the co2 method. And the Mexican water process. If you ask me, I'll tell you that solvent washed coffee tastes best, and that is very safe to consume. Drink and enjoy your decaf! Brian http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem00/chem00484.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethyl_acetate