Coffee Facts

Part 3: Direct Solvent ProcessThe biggest challenge in decaffeinating coffee is removing the caffeine without a loss in resulting flavor. It’s very easy to accidentally take out the oils, sugars, and proteins found in a coffee bean along with the caffeine, if one is only using water. The solvents target the caffeine, while leaving behind the flavor molecules which lead to a bold and distinct decaffeinated cup of coffee.

Part 2: Indirect Solvent ProcessSome decaffeinating processes use a “decaffeinating agent” or “solvent” such as ethyl acetate, or methylene chloride at one stage in the decaffeinating process. (Don’t worry– these agents are completely removed  from the green coffee beans, and in some cases, they never even touch the beans themselves…