Decaffeinated Coffee: Know The Facts

You probably do not think much about your decaf. If it tastes like coffee, that is probably all you need to know, right?

Not necessarily. Not all decaffeination methods are the same. Some decaffeination processes get rid of caffeine using some pretty nasty chemicals. Other types of decaffeination methods use only water.

(Photo by Ahmed Rabea )

What Is the truth about decaffeinated coffee?

As you probably know, caffeine is not recommended during pregnancy. Caffeine is linked to miscarriage and underweight babies. Therefore, you probably will either stop all together or if you are like us, you may switch to decaffinated brew. But did you know that there is a HUGE difference in decaffinated coffees?

* Decaffeinated Coffee is not Caffeine-Free. US standards allows 3% of the caffeine to remain in a 'decaffinated coffee'. If you drink several cups of Decaffeinated Coffee, you could get quite a bit of caffeine. This data base shows the amount of Caffeine in various types of drinks.

* Not all methods of decaffination are the same. Some decaffeination methods involve methylene chloride or ethyl acetate, substance that you may not want to expose your growing baby to. I wrote to Taster's Choice and asked them about their decaffeination process and have posted their response below.

* Some processes are better at removing caffeine and NOT removing flavor while other processes are inexpensive, but together with the caffeine remove most of the coffee flavor.

Is this the truth about decaffeinated coffee?

On the Taster's Choice website they write that their decaf coffee is 'naturally decaffinated'. So, I wrote to Taster's Choice to ask them for more details. Here is the response I received:

Dear Sir:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us about Nescafé® Taster's Choice® Decaf Instant Coffee regarding our decaffeination process. We welcome questions and comments from loyal consumers such as yourself and appreciate this opportunity to assist you.

Before the coffee is roasted, ground, and brewed, at least 97% of the caffeine is removed from the green coffee bean. We use a method commonly utilized for many years by almost every major coffee manufacturer, and fully approved by the FDA as a safe method of decaffeinating. This entails using water and a product known as Methylene Chloride to decaffeinate the green coffee beans. Methylene Chloride is not an added ingredient but merely a product used during the caffeine removal. Then the beans are used in the normal process for making instant coffee. The final product contains nothing but 100% pure decaffeinated coffee.

At Nestlé, we are dedicated to you and your family throughout every phase of your lives. Your feedback is valuable to us, as it helps us to improve our products and services.

We appreciate your interest in our products and hope you will visit our website often for the latest information on our products and promotions.

Sincerely,

Beverly Watson

Consumer Response Representative

This rather long video explains how the Swiss Water Decaffination process works. While amusing, if you do not have the time skip down a bit and read about the Swiss Water Decaffination Process.

The only way to tell if a coffee offers Swiss Water Decaffeination is to look for the logo on the package.

What is the truth about water decaffeinated coffee

Personally, I feel more comfortable drinking coffee which has been decaffeinated without the use of chemicals. The Swiss Water decaffeination method is 100% Chemical Free and removes 99.9% of the caffeine.

Are there other safe decaffination processes? Are there other safe decaffeinated coffees for women to drink? Probably. But this is the point where my research has stopped. If someone has more information, please contact me.

Starbucks USED to offer a decaffeinated coffee which used the Swiss Water decaffeination method, but according to this article Starbucks no longer offers Swiss Water Decafinated coffee. Currently all Starbucks decaf coffee uses Methylene chloride. Should this change again, I would be pleased if someone let me know.

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What is the truth about decaffeinated coffee? Is chemically treated decaffeinated coffee safe? Do you prefer water decaffeinated coffee?