I’m not.
Got me to wondering how coffee is actually decaffeinated.
There appears to be two processes.
One is called the sugar cane process where the coffee is steamed for 30 minutes which opens the pores of the beans allowing full caffeine removal.
The beans are then soaked in a solution of water and ethyl acetate (EA).
The EA bonds to the chlorogenic acids within the coffee and the caffeine begins to migrate away from the beans.
The last of the caffeine is removed after 8 hours.
Low pressure steam removes all traces of EA.
Coming from an industrial chemical background I wondered about the ethyl acetate.
I generally know it as a solvent for use in paint, adhesives etc and is manufactured large scale generally by the esterification of ethanol (alcohol) and acetic acid ie. The Fischer Method.
A bit of research established that the EA used in decaffeination comes from alcohol created by the fermentation of molasses derived from sugar cane which is then mixed with acetic acid.
I was also aware of this alcohol/acetic acid reaction from wine making where a certain amount of EA, especially in young white wine, creates a ‘sweetness’. However excess EA in wine is a fault.
The second process is called the Swiss Water Process.
This involves hydrating the raw coffee then continuously circulating Green Coffee Extract (GCE) around the coffee for 8-10 hours which causes the caffeine to migrate to the GCE.
The coffee 99.9% caffeine free is then dried, polished and packed.
This process ensures that if the raw coffee had organic certification prior, it will retain that certification post process.
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