I was asked by a friend recently if coffee beans grow as decaffeinated or if there is a process to remove the caffeine. I will take this as an opportunity to share with you one of the most fascinating things I've learned about coffee since my humble beginnings in this business. (I offer this info based on my research and experience alone, and do not profess to be a scientist or expert in that capacity.)

All coffee grown is naturally caffeinated.* The Arabica bean contains about half the caffeine of the lower-level grown Robusta beans (used mainly in Espresso blends). Even after the decaf process, a trace of caffeine remains. There are several different decaf processes involving different chemicals, as well as either Swiss Water or Mountain Water. All processes claim to remove up to 99.9% of the caffeine in coffee beans. At Wilkinson's, we use only Mountain Water Processed decaf beans. Therefore, I will speak only for this process.

While the coffee beans are still in a green state (before roasting) the coffee beans are soaked in mountain water which leeches the majority of the caffeine from the beans. This liquid, just jumping with loads of caffeine, is then processed through carbon filters to remove the caffeine (I believe this is a trade secret as to how they do this). The beans are then returned to the water to reabsorb any coffee flavor that may have been removed. This makes for a more flavorful decaf bean (is that a conundrum?) than some chemical processes, which many say gives the coffee a bitter aftertaste...not a good thing with coffee!

Okay, are you ready for this? The caffeine is then sold to companies such as Cokola (using a random name to prevent legal ramifications), and Mountain Water Dew (so that's where that name comes from!), where the caffeine is ADDED to their soft drinks. Cokola and Mountain Water Dew (and many others) in the beginning contain NO caffeine, thus there is no such thing as decaf Cokola or Mountain Water Dew, since you can't decaffeinate something that never had caffeine to start with. There IS such a thing as caffeine free (or uncaffeinated) Cokola and Mountain Water Dew, since no caffeine was added to it. Make sense? Isn't that just the coolest thing. I believe other products that use caffeine in this manner include aspirins.

I'm still learning about all these wonders of the coffee and tea business, which means I CAN be proven wrong. I am inviting a friend of mine, Joseph Rivera, who IS a coffee scientist to give his input on this matter. He's such a scientist that his company logo includes the scientific equation for coffee. Keep an eye on this blog for his input. And as always, thanks for Keeping it Fresh!

*I understand a few trials are underway with cultivation of "caffeine free" plants being grown and tested, but the results thus far have been less than enjoyable!