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The beverage industry is a major fund firms in competition with many advertisements for use on a daily basis. All drinks, including coffee, tea, soft drinks and bottled water are sold in a major ingredient – caffeine or no caffeine. In non-caffeine market segment, consumers will be many terms used to describe drinks "decaffeinated", "naturally decaffeinated" and "caffeine free". As a general rule, beverages should be considered "caffeine-free" if there are the ingredients of caffeine to get started. This rules out all coffee beans and tea leaves because both contain caffeine, not in their form. For lovers of coffee and tea do not want the caffeine beverages should pay attention to both natural variations in caffeine content of various teas and coffee (some have more and some less) as well as the physical process Decaffeination used to manufacture a specific product of coffee or tea.

So far, there is no Decaffeination method that can remove 100% of the caffeine in coffee. American Standard – which is also a "standard" and not a law – said that May is a drink called "decaffeinated" if 97% of the caffeine was removed. Europe generally follows a higher level that is closer to 99%, but not infallible. And beyond the manufacturers control, production methods and steeping times (length of a tea bag is left sitting in your cup of hot water) dramatically the level of caffeine that is found by the consumer.

The percentages are those in which the reflection on the caffeine content of different types of coffee, tea and roasts may be useful. For example, Arabica beans normally contain caffeine, about half of Robusta beans. Thus, while the strong beer in May to 100 mg of caffeine and its equivalent 3 mg decaffeinated, equal service Arabica beer contains about 50 mg and 1.5 mg of caffeine in decaffeinated version. Tea naturally caffeine content than coffee – a variety. After reading the industrial methods of extraction of caffeine of a cup of coffee, you want May to examine carefully the products of the beverage of your choice.

False statements

A web search of "coffee Decaffeination or Decaffeination processes" will produce many conflicts, confusion, wrong / incorrect and sometimes purposely misleading results. With so many consumer dollars at stake, and the sordid historical origins of chemical Decaffeination (below) beverage manufacturers make every effort to reassure consumers that the drinks are safe and healthy. Even if there is a kernel of truth in most labels, decaf products labeled "naturally decaffeinated" and "treated water" is particularly misleading. Both methods and four agents Decaffeination help to explain why.

Direct vs. indirect

Contrary to what one reads, there is the direct and indirect methods of chemicals, water, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide liquid agents. The terms "direct" and "indirect" not say anything about the consumer or the types of solvents, chemicals or reagents used for decaffeinated product. Directly and indirectly, refers to whether the chemicals, water or solutions of carbon dioxide are in direct contact with the coffee. Indirect processing methods steam the beans, collect and condense the steam, then remove the caffeine from the condensed water, either by filtering solvents or carbon-based – not that the beans are soaked in the solution. After caffeine is separated (from one of them), coffee extract, concentrated liquid containing coffee solids and flavors are soaked in coffee. This is why many people claim that decaf has less taste or quality of pure coffee.

Chemical vs. "natural"

There are currently four types of Decaffeination processes: 1) solvent-based, 2) carbon or carbon-filtered, 3) "supercritical" carbon dioxide, and 4) triglycerides, a process developed in the last 5 years. All these processes are performed on green coffee beans are roasted first.

A point of clarification: you read a lot about water-based process, but each method Decaffeination name using the water in the process. It should therefore not give the full brunt of "treated water", with one exception, the Swiss water process is a patented method of activated carbon filter.

A solvent based Decaffeination is the oldest and most controversial way to remove the caffeine of coffee or tea. Its inventor, benzene used for the first time that the agent of separation. As benzene began to be recognized as a risk to health, was replaced by TCE, a controversial industrial solvent. For the years 1970 and 1980, was replaced by TCE chemical methylene chloride, which has many advantages, but is still suspected of having some carcinogenic risks. Today, most use only ethyl acetate as solvent Decaffeination.

It is important to note that some producers of ethyl acetate demand for "natural" or "naturally decaffeinated" because the chemical compound that occurs naturally in many fruits and vegetables. But the amount of chemicals for industrial use Decaffeination means that almost 100% of the time, synthesis of ethyl acetate is used. So far, there are no known health risks associated with the use of ethyl acetate, directly or indirectly, from Decaffeination methods.

Charcoal filtration process and carbon have been developed as a direct challenge to the methods based solvents. Use only water, coffee elements are extracted from the beans, filtered through charcoal or carbon to remove the caffeine, the extract is then replaced in the bean. The patented Swiss Water process is presented as a method for preserving flavor, because it launched the first batch of beans and uses the decaffeinated coffee extract to the filter and wash the next batch of beans, and so forth. Basically, the difference is that you are not using pure water filter for the beans, using "flavor charged" water that is already saturated with the flavor of ingredients so that the caffeine from the bean water. Therefore, there is no re-soaking or re-infusion removed the taste of coffee, because the taste was not removed.

Supercritical carbon dioxide gas and liquid-liquid type of physical properties. You have also heard many superheated or liquefied gas. Supercritical fluid fills the container like a gas, but can dissolve substances like a liquid – that makes it an excellent agent for separating an element such as caffeine in coffee. The strong pressure of carbon dioxide is forced through the beans and penetrates deeply, until the dissolution of 99% of caffeine. The carbon dioxide residue from evaporation of coffee beans that return to room temperature.

Any finally, the new method Decaffeination uses triglycerides from spent coffee to extract the caffeine of coffee from raw materials. The beans are soaked in a solution of warm water to draw the caffeine to the surface of beans. They are then transferred into another container and immersed in coffee oils that were obtained from spent coffee. Coffee contains oils triglycerides, which when heated for several hours at elevated temperatures, separate the caffeine – but supposedly not the flavor – from beans. The beans are then separated from oil and dried. The caffeine is removed from the oils which are reused for another batch of beans decaffeinated.

All these processes Decaffeination distort natural coffee beans in some way because they are elements of extracting the essence of the seed or leaf tea. While some methods claim to be better or safer than others, the processes are similar, and may be difficult for consumers to discern the reality is that the method used. Decaffeinated drinkers should read product packages carefully and possibly contact the manufacturer for information about the method they used.

Another alternative is to once again choose a beverage with low caffeine content to begin with. Change the pattern of consumption and production of beer in order to preserve the flavor while lowering your caffeine exposure. A promising development for the future is the discovery of enzyme that produces caffeine in the coffee plant. Scientists have discovered coffee varieties in Ethiopia containing a small fraction of the caffeine in coffee. In addition, work on the development of enzymes in a commercial way to grow Bioengineered, caffeine free coffee. At the same time, enjoy your coffee!