Is Decaf Coffee from Starbucks Harmful to Health? Differences Between Decaf and Regular Coffee - Which is Better?

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How Does Starbucks Make Their Decaf Coffee Beans?

Drinking coffee naturally is best! Low-caffeine and decaffeinated coffees are not recommended. Starbucks has two methods for removing caffeine:

1. Direct Contact Method

First, green beans are soaked in warm water to soften them, then a chemical agent [methylene chloride] is added. This chemical substance has a very low melting point and will be completely destroyed at 40 degrees. The typical temperature for brewing coffee is usually around 93 degrees. Therefore, Starbucks' low-caffeine beans will not contain methylene chloride.

After adding the chemical, caffeine is released from the coffee beans. This method effectively preserves the flavor of the coffee beans. The extracted caffeine can even be resold to pharmaceutical companies to make painkillers or to beverage manufacturers to produce caffeinated drinks! The low-caffeine beans sold by Starbucks have 99% of their caffeine removed!

2. Swiss Water Process

This method involves soaking green beans in warm water, allowing the caffeine from the beans to diffuse into the water. Then the water is separated from the coffee beans. At this point, both the flavor and caffeine from the beans have transferred to the water. This water is called "flavor-enhanced water." Afterward, the flavor-enhanced water is filtered through activated carbon to remove the caffeine. Then the filtered, caffeine-free flavor-enhanced water is used to soak the beans again, drawing the coffee flavors back into the beans and minimizing flavor loss!

The caffeine content in coffee varies by variety. During the roasting process, the deeper the roast, the lower the caffeine content.

However, here's the problem. Most commercially available low-caffeine or even decaffeinated coffees, if processed using these methods, would result in coffee that tastes only of charcoal or ashtray. Therefore, low-caffeine or decaffeinated coffee is processed at "pharmaceutical factories" to remove caffeine after the green coffee beans are harvested. Don't doubt it - that's exactly how it works. This is because some pharmaceutical preparations require caffeine, and pharmaceutical factories use this as a source of caffeine. After the caffeine is washed out from the coffee beans at the pharmaceutical factory (this washing process uses chemical methods, not regular water washing), and then dried and roasted, they become the low-caffeine or decaffeinated coffee in your hands.

In fact, the production of low-caffeine or decaffeinated coffee is mainly for patients who cannot consume caffeine. Some people think that drinking low-caffeine or decaffeinated coffee is healthier, so they only choose these two types of coffee. Actually, these two coffees are the least healthy. Moreover, after the pharmaceutical factory washing process, the coffee bean flavor typically remains only about 60% of what it would be in unprocessed beans of the same variety and origin - the flavor has been damaged by the washing process. So, actually, when drinking coffee, natural is best...

Do Caffeine Extraction Technologies Have Cancer Concerns?

Currently, there are mainly 3 types of caffeine extraction technologies for decaf coffee beans. The solvent extraction method is most commonly used but also generates the most discussion, because concerns about organic solvent residues always worry people.

1. Solvent Extraction Method

● Dichloromethane Extraction Method | Less impact on coffee flavor, but solvent is a possible carcinogen

Green coffee beans are treated with high-pressure steam to adjust their moisture content, then soaked in dichloromethane solvent, allowing full contact between the beans and solvent to extract caffeine.

This extraction method is the most economical approach because dichloromethane has the highest extraction efficiency for caffeine, is easily volatile and unlikely to remain, and has low reactivity with other substances.

However, dichloromethane is a suspected carcinogen and harmful to the environment. Taiwan currently prohibits the use of dichloromethane in food processing. Nevertheless, this method is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which only sets upper limits for permissible residue amounts.

Su Nan-wei mentioned that if you're importing decaffeinated coffee beans, it's still possible to buy beans extracted using dichloromethane solvent. However, he further explained that dichloromethane has a very low boiling point - approximately 30-40°C is enough for it to volatilize, making it unlikely to remain as residue. After caffeine removal, the coffee beans also undergo roasting at temperatures around 160-230°C, which can cause complete volatilization of dichloromethane. Therefore, although the National Cancer Institute considers dichloromethane a possible carcinogen, the FDA still permits its use as a caffeine extraction solvent, setting the permissible residue limit for decaf beans or instant coffee at 10ppm. Most tested decaffeinated coffee beans contain only about 1ppm or even less, making the actual cancer risk not very high.

● Ethyl Acetate Extraction Method | Safe and common, but slightly affects flavor

Ethyl acetate emerged as a new alternative due to consumer concerns about dichloromethane. Ethyl acetate exists in nature, and some fruits even contain higher amounts than what's found in decaffeinated coffee residue. It's considered a safer choice and is currently the more common practice.

Ethyl acetate has a slightly higher boiling point than dichloromethane, around 77°C, and is also easily volatile. The disadvantage is that ethyl acetate affects the properties of coffee beans, resulting in poorer flavor after roasting.

2. Swiss Water Process | Safer but more expensive

Whether using dichloromethane or ethyl acetate, there are concerns about organic solvent residues, which led to the development of the "water method." Using the water-soluble property of caffeine, coffee beans are first soaked in warm water. After caffeine and other components dissolve into the water, activated carbon is used to adsorb the caffeine from the extract. Then the caffeine-free extract is returned to the original coffee beans, allowing them to reabsorb the lost components before the beans are dehydrated and dried.

This method emphasizes not using any organic solvents to extract caffeine, making it the choice for health-conscious consumers. However, the disadvantages are that even though the beans reabsorb the caffeine-free extract, it still affects the flavor of the coffee beans. Additionally, decaffeinated coffee produced using this method is more expensive.

3. Supercritical/Liquid Carbon Dioxide High-Pressure Extraction Method | Expensive

There are various processes for using high-pressure carbon dioxide to decaffeinate coffee, which can be used not only for removing caffeine from green coffee beans but also for removing caffeine from roasted coffee beans.

The main principle is that under specific high-pressure and temperature conditions, carbon dioxide has good penetration properties and can extract coffee flavors or specific components from beans according to requirements. Combined with pressure, temperature control, and the moisture content of the carbon dioxide used for extraction, caffeine can be effectively separated from coffee beans.

This method completely eliminates solvent residue problems and can use multi-stage extraction techniques to return original coffee flavors to the beans to preserve their original taste. However, the problem is that because special equipment is required, it's very expensive and not widely used.

Actually, whether it's regular coffee or decaffeinated coffee, "drinking in moderation" and "using less creamer and sugar" remain the most important principles. However, if you have high cholesterol or belong to a high-risk group for cardiovascular diseases, it's best to discuss with your doctor and nutritionist whether decaffeinated coffee beans are suitable for you...

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