Decaff/Caffine

[Guest guest]

I didn't find much on the decaff process but here is a bit of info.

 

God Bless,

Jamie

 

 

The Decaf Story

 

Did you know that a simple twelve-ounce cup of decaffinated (decaf) coffee

can contain at least 10 milligrams of caffeine, and maybe more depending on

how it's brewed? In addition, decaf coffee appears to raise cholesterol

levels higher & faster than regular coffee. According to one Stanford

University study, drinking decaf for only two months raised LDL (bad

cholesterol) by 7 percent. Statistically, that represents approximately a 12

percent increase in heart attack risk in just 2 months.*

 

The method of extracting caffeine from coffee beans usually leaves behind

chemical residues. The chemical methylene chloride is a carcinogenic and

commonly used in the decaffination process. Only the Swiss Water Process

Method or CO2 extraction method is recommended. You can usually find it only

in high priced decaf coffee.

 

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Decaffination processes include:

 

In 1900 it was found that caffiene could be dissolved from the beans with

Chloroform and Bezene. Both are toxic. The process is no longer used.

 

For 70 years methylene chloride became the solvent of choice. It was

discovered in the 1980's to be a suspected carcinogen. While abandoned

by all the big U.S. coffee labels, the Food and Drug Administration

continues to permit the use of methylene chloride if the residues in the

coffee are below 10 parts per million. Processing for specialty decafs

still often uses it because it perturbs other flavorings so little.

 

Other solvents such as ethyl acetate are used. Ethyl acetate occurs

naturally in fruit, so beans with this extraction process can be labelled

" all natural. "

 

The Swiss Water Process uses a water solution to extract caffeine.

 

Another modern process (developed by Maxwell House) uses supercritical

carbon dioxide as a solvent.

 

from: DECAFFEINATING COFFEE, by Saul N. Katz

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Also there is a web site www.caffine.com it has a ton of info on

caffine all the way around.