How to Decaffeinate Coffee Beans: What Are Decaffeinated Coffee Beans? How to Decaffeinate Coffee Beans?

Decaffeinated coffee beans are specially processed coffee beans that have a lower caffeine content than regular coffee beans. This processing method is mainly to meet the needs of people who are sensitive to caffeine or want to reduce their intake.

Low-carbon treatment is mainly achieved through two methods: water washing and carbon dioxide method.

The washed coffee method is one of the most common and oldest methods of processing coffee beans to reduce caffeine. First, the unripe or defective coffee cherries are soaked in water, and then the skin and pulp are separated by a mechanical device. Next, the beans are repeatedly rinsed with clean water to remove residual substances, and fermented to remove some of the naturally occurring sourness. Finally, they are rinsed with clean water again and dried to obtain decaffeinated coffee beans.

The CO2 method uses liquid CO2 as a solvent to extract most of the caffeine from coffee beans. First, liquid CO2 is injected into a sealed container under high pressure and heated to a supercritical state (between liquid and gas). Then, the coffee beans are soaked in this supercritical CO2, which penetrates into the beans and dissolves the caffeine. Finally, the pressure is reduced to normal pressure and the liquid containing caffeine is separated by evaporating the CO2. After a series of steps to remove the remaining CO2, decaffeinated coffee beans are obtained.

In short, decaffeinated coffee beans are processed by washing or using liquid CO2 to reduce the caffeine content of the beans. This process allows people who are sensitive to caffeine or wish to reduce their intake to enjoy delicious coffee without worrying about consuming too much high levels of stimulants.