We currently carry two decafs: the Colombian and
the Sumatra. Of the two, the coffee from Sumatra is by far the more full-bodied and
flavorful. To me, the Colombian is just the opposite. . . .not bad flavor, but not much
body. The two coffees make a pretty good blend, however, when a little Decaf Espresso
added for flavor. We call this blend our House Blend Decaf.
With the Sumatra bean being one of the most
full-bodied coffees to begin with, we naturally use it for the Decaf Espresso. . . even
when decaffeinated, the Sumatran bean makes a flavorful coffee, and the dark roast bean
makes a delicious decaffeinated espresso!
Have you ever wondered how beans are
decaffeinated? Well, the following will illustrate the main
methods in use today:
Water Extraction Process
Green beans are soaked in hot water to draw out the caffeine. After soaking, the
water is drained off and treated with methylene chloride or ethyl acetate, which
both have a low boiling point. Since ethyl acetate is found naturally in fruits
you will hear people call this process "natural." These are solvents that bind
with the caffeine. The solvent and caffeine are removed by heating the solution
and the remaining water is returned to the beans and reabsorbed.
The green beans are then roasted at temperatures above 400 F and, since methylene chloride evaporates at 100 F, there is no trace remaining in the
finished product.
The major advantage of this process is that the beans are immersed in water
for a relatively short period of time, so fewer essential flavor components are
lost. Re-absorption from the same water restores almost all original flavor
components.
Swiss Water Process
This method uses water and
carbon filters to remove caffeine from the beans. This chemical-free process has
progressed through the years to maintain the rich, gourmet coffee flavor that
was previously achieved only through the Water Extraction Process.
Green beans are soaked in water for a long period of time to dissolve
caffeine. The flavor components are also removed in the initial soaking. The
water is drawn off, then filtered through activated carbon or charcoal to remove
the caffeine, resulting in flavor-charged, but caffeine-free water. The first
batch of flavorless, decaffeinated beans are discarded and a new batch of
premium beans are soaked in the flavor-charged water. This water draws off only
the caffeine, while the bean's original flavor remains intact since it is
surrounded by flavor-saturated water.
The decaffeinated beans are dried and roasted in true gourmet fashion. Since
the first batch of soaked beans is discarded, this process is more costly than
the standard water extraction process. However this is a flavorful choice for
those who are at all concerned about the use of chemicals in food and beverage
processing, and the type of bean used exclusively at the Colorado Coffee
Exchange.
CO2 Process
In the carbon dioxide process green beans are
soaked in highly compressed CO2, which extracts the caffeine. The caffeine is
then removed from the CO2 using activated carbon filters and is reused to
extract more caffeine from the coffee.
Sparkling Water Process
The sparkling water process is similar to the CO2
method, but instead of removing the caffeine with activated carbon filters, it
is washed from the CO2 with water in a secondary tank and is then recycled to
extract more caffeine from the coffee. The solvent consists of approximately
99.7% compressed carbon dioxide and 0.3% water.
Strangely enough, a naturally-grown decaffeinated bean has been found
recently. To read about this bean, click HERE.
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- Colombian Supremo
Decaf (DECAFFEINATED Swiss Water Process ) - To
me, the Colombian is just the opposite. . . .not bad flavor, but not much body.
More
- Sumatra
Mandheling Decaf (DECAFFEINATED Swiss Water Process ) - the
coffee from Sumatra is by far the more full-bodied and flavorful.
More
- House Blend Decaf
(DECAFFEINATED Swiss Water Process ) -The two
coffees make a pretty good blend, however, when combined in a two to one ratio, with the
Sumatran getting the two parts. We call this blend our House Blend Decaf.
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