The decaffeination process of coffee involves soaking green or unroasted coffee beans in hot water to open the pores and facilitate the removal of the caffeine.
After water soaking there are four processes for removing the caffeine from coffee:
1. Methyl Chloride Solvent - This process is inexpensive and very selective in what it removes from the beans.
2. Ethyl Acetate Solvent - This process is almost the same as Methyl Chloride.
3. Swiss Water Process - This process used activated charcoal to remove caffeine, but also removes much of the flavor components as well. This method is a little more inexpensive than the direct or solvent processes.
4. CO2 - Uses Carbon Dioxide under high pressure and retains much of the flavor of the original bean. This method is very expensive and not widely used for coffees.
About 99% of the caffeine is removed regardless of the process and unfortunately, flavor and aroma are also diminished.
At Harvest Café Coffee Company, our goal is to provide a decaffeinated coffee that is every bit as rich and flavorful as it’s regular counterpart (this is not easy). We use the same exacting quality standards in selecting our green decaffeinated coffees as we do all others. Finally, it is the artful roasting and blending that Harvest Café Coffee Company uses that creates decaffeinated coffees that will please your taste buds.
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