Decaf Coffee
Is “decaf” actually coffee? Or just tired, sad, brown colored water?
Ah decaf coffee. A heated topic amongst coffee drinkers, often written off as nothing more than brown colored water. Some embrace it, and others won’t even glance at it. But like most things in life…most of us live somewhere the middle. We’ll drink it. And who hasn’t yearned for a more than decent cup of coffee in the late evening.
And here at BARBELL COFFEE, we drink decaf coffee. That’s right. We said it. But we drink our decaf coffee. There is a huge difference between the stuff on the shelf at your grocery store and the high-quality, super fresh roasted, specialty decaf coffee we offer.
First things first. What exactly is Decaf Coffee?
Left: Green (pre-roasted) organic decaf coffee from Honduras decaffeinated by the Swiss Water Process method and (right) conventional regular green coffee from Costa Rica.
Decaf coffee is regular coffee that has gone through a decaffeination process to remove about 97% or more of the caffeine in coffee beans. All decaf coffee starts out the same as regular coffee - either conventional or organic. But after it’s been dried (the final step in the harvesting process), instead of going out to market, coffee designated for decaf gets shipped to a decaffeination facility - which is a separate processing facility. This extra step in shipping, processing, and shipping again, makes decaf coffee typically more expensive than regular coffee.
Wait. All decaf isn’t Decaffeinated the same way?
Nope. There are a few different ways coffee is decaffeinated. But generally speaking, there are two main ways: solvents based and water based.
Most coffee is decaffeinated via the solvents based method using a chemical like ethyl acetate or methylene chloride (these are the most popular). Basically, in these methods, a solvent is used - either directly or indirectly - to strip caffeine from the bean. Like any chemical process, it can get very detailed very quickly. So you if you want to take the time to deep-dive into the chemistry of each process, we recommend a Google search or check out this article from Britannica.
Swiss Water Process: The process we Go With at Barbell Coffee
Our coffee at BARBELL COFFEE is decaffeinated using a water-based method called Swiss Water Process. Swiss Water - the name of the decaffeination facility - is located in British Columbia, and their patented Swiss Water Process uses only water, temperature, and time to gently remove 99.9% of caffeine from coffee. Not only does it remove more caffeine than other traditional methods - it does it without using chemicals. The Swiss Water Process also retains much of the coffees’ flavor characteristics. Seeing “SWP” or their signature blue seal means you’re getting the very best cup of decaf, free of chemicals or residual processing flavors. That sounds like it qualifies to be a part of the BARBELL COFFEE line up to us.
From Swiss Water:
“It’s our goal that all the great-tasting coffee that comes into our facility leaves the same way, only without caffeine. Our chemical-free process ensures as little intervention as possible in the taste of the coffees—allowing them to retain their unique origin flavors and characteristics. Our operators monitor the decaffeination process 24/7 so that all coffee that goes through our facility is 100% seamless and traceable—and unlike many other methods, our process leaves all certifications intact. As a final step, every coffee we decaffeinate is cupped and given a side-by-side analysis comparing pre- and post-decaffeination states, allowing us to ensure quality control and superior decaf flavor.”
Why does decaf cost more?
All decaf coffee has to go through at least three additional overall logistical steps before it’s ready to be sold to consumers.
Coffee designated for decaf is separated and shipped to a decaffeination facility
The coffee is decaffeinated at the facility
The decaf coffee is shipped to the whole seller, coffee buyer, importer etc.
Each step has a cost: shipping - processing - shipping. These cost are included in the wholesale price of the bean. Then add if the coffee is single origin (adds cost), specialty rated (top 10% coffee in the world…adds cost), and/or organic, Fair Trade etc…(adds cost).
So don’t drink weak decaf coffee.
enjoy a cup of SWP decaf, single origin, small batch, Fresh roasted, specialty coffee by barbell coffee.
(…we like adjectives).