Decaffeinated Coffee

If you like the taste of coffee but don't like the jittery way makes you feel, then drinking decaffeinated coffee might be a good option. But does it taste as good? While it's true, removing the caffeine from coffee does alter the taste since caffeine gives it a more bitter, acidic flavor, some people may prefer the flavor of a coffee that is decaffeinated. One should note that the food and drug administration does not have regulatory authority on the way coffee is labeled; so coffee can be purchased that is labeled decaffeinated which actually has between two and 13 mg of caffeine in it. If you are strictly off caffeine, beware the labels.

Since coffee naturally has caffeine in it, in order to make decaf you need to remove the caffeine and there are two processes that can accomplish this.

The Swiss water process is the method used in higher-end coffees and those you will find in organic food stores and gourmet shops because it does not use chemicals. This is an organic method of extracting the caffeine which typically removes about 95% of it while retaining the compounds that make the coffee tastes good. Of course, this process does come with a price, and you will pay more for decaffeinated coffee made with this method.

A chemical solvent method is also used in which chemicals such as highly pressurized carbon dioxide, ethyl acetate and methylene chloride are used to coax the caffeine out of the beans. After the beans are soaked in this chemical mix, they are rinsed, steamed, and then roasted. All the solvent is removed through these three processes. The chemical solvent method removes more of the caffeine than the Swiss water process getting about 97%.

While the decaf version of coffee has many of the health benefits of caffeinated coffee, recent studies show that only the decaffeinated version may cause an increase in "bad cholesterol" because it increases a particular blood fat. However, if you only drink one or two cups a day this probably isn't a concern.

Since the process of making decaffeinated coffee does change the taste, you'll probably want to experiment with different brands and mixtures of coffee until you find one that has a taste you like. While the same brand of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffees will have a different taste, you can still find that mixture of bitterness and coffee flavor that you love if you experiment with quality decaffeinated brands.

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