How To Extract Pure Caffeine From Coffee
Caffeine, an alkaloid compound that occurs naturally in tea leaves and coffee beans, has many physiological effects on the body. When you drink coffee, tea, soda or energy drinks you might feel more alert because caffeine is a stimulant. However, you can remove caffeine from coffee via a process called extraction to produce decaffeinated versions of beverages.
TL DR
Different methods can extract pure caffeine from coffee, including direct organic solvent extraction, the water process method and supercritical carbon dioxide extraction.
How Is Caffeine Removed From Coffee
How Is Caffeine Removed from Coffee? In order to remove the caffeine from coffee beans, the beans are washed in a liquid capable of dissolving substances, transferring the caffeine from bean to liquid in a process known as extraction.
Caffeine is removed from coffee with the aid of certain chemicals. Caffeine is a substance that acts as a natural stimulant. Decaffeinated coffees are prepared for people who are sensitive to the caffeine in regular coffee.
To remove most of coffees caffeine, green coffee beans are steamed to swell their cells. The peanut-size beans are then soaked in a special solvent that flushes out about 97 percent of their caffeine.
The decaffeinated beans are then thoroughly rinsed and dried, and the dried beans, like regular coffee beans, are roasted and ground. To extract caffeine from whole coffee beans, the following can be used:
Water Extraction: The process to remove caffeine from coffee beans using water was first developed in Switzerland in the 1930s, but was only trademarked as the Swiss Water Process in the 80s by a company in Vancouver, British Columbia.
In the Swiss Water Process, a batch of beans is washed in very hot water to extract the caffeine and other water-soluble compounds from the beans. The beans are discarded, while the water is filtered to remove the caffeine, yielding a caffeine-free green coffee extract. The decaffeinated green coffee extract is then reused to wash another batch of coffee beans.
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Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Processing
Carbon dioxide supercritical fluid exhibits both liquid and gas-like behavior. It behaves like gas, and permeates a porous substance, while also exhibiting liquid properties to dissolve substances. Although supercritical carbon dioxide is non-polar, and should only be able to dissolve non-polar substances, certain co-solvents, like water, can be added so that supercritical carbon dioxide can actually dissolve polar molecules like caffeine. Water is more polar than caffeine is, so supercritical carbon dioxide, in the presence of a co-solvent like water, will dissolve the more non-polar substance, in this case, caffeine. In order to use supercritical carbon dioxide to decaffeinate coffee beans, the beans are first steamed until they swell . After this, they are immersed in supercritical carbon dioxide which binds to the caffeine molecules and draws them out of the beans, leaving the coffee solids embedded in the bean. The resulting coffee beans are about 97% caffeine free. The carbon dioxide is then passed through a charcoal membrane that is selective toward carbon dioxide molecules. Caffeine is stopped by the membrane, because of its larger size relative to carbon dioxide, and collected.
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Swiss Water Process Swp
This chemical-free water decaffeination process was pioneered in Switzerland in 1933 and developed as a commercially viable method of decaffeination by Coffex S.A. in 1980. In 1988 the Swiss Water Method was finally introduced to the market and its facility is based near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
This particular method of decaffeination is different from what weve so far seen in that it does not directly or indirectly add chemicals to extract the caffeine. Rather, it relies entirely on two concepts, namely solubility and osmosis, to decaffeinate coffee beans.
It begins by soaking a batch of beans in very hot water in order to dissolve the caffeine. The water is then drawn off and passed through an activated charcoal filter. The porosity of this filter is sized to only capture larger caffeine molecules, while allowing smaller oil and flavor molecules to pass through it.
Consequently we end up with beans with no caffeine and no flavor in one tank, and caffeine-free flavor charged water in another tank.
And heres where the magic happens. The flavorless caffeine-free beans are discarded, but the flavor rich water is reused to remove the caffeine from a fresh batch of coffee beans.
Since this water already is saturated with flavor ingredients the flavors in this fresh batch cant dissolve only caffeine moves from the coffee beans to the water. So the result is decaffeination without a massive loss of flavor.
Why There’s Caffeine In Decaf Coffee
First things first: What the hell is caffeine even doing in your decaf cup of Joe? She doesnt even go here. We have the nature of the decaffeination process to thank for this. Its long, complicated, and imperfect. It is almost impossible to remove all the caffeine from a coffee bean, Nathan Arnold, spokesperson for the Food and Drug Administration , tells SELF.
There are several methods of decaffeination, with the most common being what are called solvent extraction techniques, William Ristenpart, Ph.D., director of the U.C. Davis Coffee Center and professor of chemical engineering at the University of California Davis, tells SELF. Basically, after green coffee beans are harvested and dried but before roasting , they are soaked in a solution containing a solvent, usually methylene chloride or ethyl acetate, which binds to the caffeine molecules and leaches them out. Other solvent methods involve drawing out the caffeine using only water , or highly pressurized carbon dioxide .
There are typically multiple rounds of extraction that take place. The number of rounds and the other steps and chemical processes involved in each method vary. But across the board, it is not feasible to remove every last molecule of caffeine, Ristenpart says. In general, whenever youre doing a separation of chemicals, its very difficult to achieve 100 percent , and thats true for the caffeine in coffee beans.
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Which Decaf Should You Choose
Experts say you shouldnt be concerned about the chemicals used in the decaffeination process. But if you are looking to minimize your exposure, you might want to know which decaffeination method was used on a particular bag.
This may be more challenging to find out than you think, Ristenpart says, because there are no specific labeling rules that require disclosing exactly how coffee was decaffeinated.
If consumers want to be sure that synthetic solvents werent used to decaffeinate, they should look for the organic seal, says Charlotte Vallaeys, Consumer Reports senior policy analyst and food-label expert. That seal prohibits not only pesticides, but chemical solvents during processing, too.
If your beans are not organic, ask your supplier which method was used, either in person if youre buying local or over the phone. If it used the solvent process, there are probably trace amounts of chemical residue on the beans.
Reduced Symptoms Of Heartburn And Reduced Risk Of Rectal Cancer
One common side effect of drinking coffee is heartburn or acid reflux.
Many people experience this condition, and drinking decaf coffee may relieve this uncomfortable side effect. Decaf coffee has been shown to cause significantly less acid reflux than regular coffee (
Summary:
Coffee is probably best known for its stimulant effects.
It increases alertness and reduces feelings of tiredness.
These effects are directly linked to the stimulant caffeine, which is found naturally in coffee.
Some of the beneficial effects of regular coffee are directly attributed to the caffeine, so decaf should not have these effects.
Here are some benefits that probably only apply to regular coffee, not decaf:
- improved mood, reaction time, memory, and mental function (
- 47 ).
However, its worth mentioning again that the research on regular coffee is way more extensive than whats available for decaf.
Summary:
Regular coffee provides many health benefits that do not apply to decaf. These include improved mental health, increased metabolic rate, enhanced athletic performance, and a lower risk of liver damage.
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Aging And Neurodegenerative Diseases
24 ).
Human cell studies also show that decaf coffee may protect neurons in the brain. This could help prevent the development of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers and Parkinsons (
28 ).
Many studies show that people who drink regular coffee have a lower risk of Alzheimers and Parkinsons, but more studies are needed on decaf specifically.
Summary:
A Guide To The Many Types Of Caffeine Extraction
In order to remove the caffeine from coffee beans, the beans are washed in a solvent , transferring the caffeine from bean to liquid in a process known as extraction.
To extract caffeine from whole coffee beans, the following solvents can be used:
Water Extraction
The process to remove caffeine from coffee beans using water was first developed in Switzerland in the 1930s, but was only trademarked as the Swiss Water Process in the 80s by a company in Vancouver, British Columbia.
In the Swiss Water Process, a batch of beans are washed in very hot water to extract the caffeine and other water-soluble compounds from the beans. The beans are discarded, while the water is filtered to remove the caffeine, yielding a caffeine-free green coffee extract. That decaffeinated green coffee extract is then used to wash another batch of coffee beans. Since the green coffee extract is already loaded with the water-soluble extracts of the coffee beans, this time, only the caffeine is extracted from the new set of beans, without losing any of the flavors and oils from the beans. The washing step is repeated until most of the caffeine has been extracted from the beans.
Organic Solvent Extraction
Since the organic solvents used to extract the caffeine from the beans are fairly volatile , only trace amounts of solvent remain after the beans are dried. Furthermore, since the beans are roasted later, residual solvent should not pose a health threat.
Organic Solvent Extraction
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Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Hydrogen
At other plants, the caffeine is removed with water or with ethyl acetate. Germany has several coffee bean decaffeination plants. In China, manufacturers produce caffeine by combining carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen to make the stimulant.
Then other companies, such as Coke and Pepsi, Viter Energy Mints , and energy drink companies buy the chemical for infusion into their products.
Another company that includes caffeine in its product is No-Doz. Now cosmetics products and diet pills also have caffeine.
Of course, coffee is not the only source of caffeine. Another big product on the market is decaffeinated tea. Premium Teas has a blog that explains how tea is decaffeinated, by four methods: with methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, carbon dioxide, and by water processing.
The Premium Teas blog tells how each method works and what the process does to the tea and its flavor.
The blog points out that decaffeinated teas are different than teas that naturally have no caffeine. Black, green, and some other types of teas have their caffeine removed by one of the four processes above. Naturally caffeine-free teas do not have to have the caffeine removed.
The Arbor Teas website has an article about the decaffeination of tea that says:
Arbor teas says of the four ways of decaffeination, in the United States, ethyl acetate is the most widely used method. Arbor Teas uses the CO2 method, a natural process.
Tea makers also sell the caffeine to other companies, of course.
Will Decaf Become Your New Regular
Decaffeinated coffee accounts for about only 12% of total global coffee consumption. However, since decaf coffee is trending among health conscious-millennials, the chances of decaf becoming even more popular are very high.
If you want to cut down on caffeine for whatever reason but still want to enjoy the taste of coffee, then . Besides, after reading this article, you now know that decaf does not contain harmful chemicals nor does it lack the nutritional value found in regular coffee. Therefore, the only thing that might stand in your way of going decaf is the caffeine-withdrawal symptoms that you will have to face.
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The Directsolvent Based Process
In this method of decaffeination the beans are steamed for about 30 minutes in order to open their pores. Once the coffee beans are receptive to a solvent, they are repeatedly rinsed with either methylene chloride or ethyl acetate for about 10 hours to remove the caffeine. The caffeine-laden solvent is then drained away and the beans are steamed again to remove any residual solvent.
Most of the time the solvent of choice in this method is ethyl acetate, so youll often see it referred to as The Natural Decaffeination Method or The Ethyl Acetate Method.
Typically, if a process is not named for a decaffeinated coffee, it has been treated by either the direct or indirect solvent methods.
A Short Explanation Of Swp
This particular method of decaffeination is different from what weve so far seen in that it does not directly or indirectly add chemicals to extract the caffeine. Rather, it relies entirely on two concepts, namely solubility and osmosis, to decaffeinate coffee beans.
It begins by soaking a batch of beans in very hot water in order to dissolve the caffeine. The water is then drawn off and passed through an activated charcoal filter. The porosity of this filter is sized to only capture larger caffeine molecules, while allowing smaller oil and flavor molecules to pass through it.
Consequently we end up with beans with no caffeine and no flavor in one tank, and caffeine-free flavor charged water in another tank.
And heres where the magic happens. The flavorless caffeine-free beans are discarded, but the flavor rich water is reused to remove the caffeine from a fresh batch of coffee beans.
Since this water already is saturated with flavor ingredients the flavors in this fresh batch cant dissolve only caffeine moves from the coffee beans to the water. So the result is decaffeination without a massive loss of flavor.
Coffees decaffeinated by this method are always labeled as SWISS WATER Decaf.
This method is almost exclusively used for decaffeination of organic coffee.
Coffee decaffeinated using the environment-friendly Swiss Water Process undergoes regular caffeine level audits to ensure compliance to 99.9% caffeine-free.
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Stop Caffeinating As Soon As You Notice Adverse Effects
If you notice uncomfortable symptoms like shakiness, stop consuming caffeine immediately. Foods and beverages with caffeine include coffee, tea, energy drinks, soda, dark chocolate, and some ice creams and desserts.
Decaf coffee is a good option if you still want to enjoy the flavor and health benefits of coffee. Still, it contains very low amounts of caffeine, at 27 mg per cup (
3 ).
If youre worried about sleep, its best to stop consuming caffeine 68 hours before bedtime.
How Is Coffee Decaffeinated A Closer Look At 4 Methods
As the second most-consumed beverage in the world, coffees popularity cant be denied. And we owe it all to a little chemical called caffeine.
Caffeine is a natural stimulant found not only in coffee, but tea and chocolate as well. Its the worlds most widely consumed psychoactive drug, commonly used to jump-start the day. However, this potent little pick-me-up of a chemical has some negative side effects like jitters and the midday crash.
If youre looking for the flavor we all love but without the crash, you may want to try the decaf option. Decaf coffee is generally coffee with 3% or less caffeine in it, and its rare to find a decaf coffee that is 100% caffeine-free. The coffees exact caffeine content depends on which decaffeinating method is used.
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How Are Coffee Tea And Colas Decaffeinated
Caffeine occurs naturally in more than 60 plants, including:
- the arabica plant, which produces coffee beans
- the Theobroma cacao tree, which produces the beans that are the primary ingredient in chocolate
- kola nuts, which many cola drink products are made with
- the Thea sinensis plant, whose leaves are used for teas
When separated from its sources, caffeine is a white, bitter-tasting powder. See How Caffeine Works for more information about caffeine.
Several methods are used to remove caffeine from its natural sources:
- Methylene chloride processing
- Carbon dioxide processing
- Water processing
Methylene chloride is a chemical used as a solvent to extract caffeine from many raw materials. Molecules of caffeine bond to molecules of methylene chloride. The materials are softened in a water bath or in steam. The next step is to process the materials with methylene chloride by either of two methods:
- Using the “direct” method, caffeine is removed by directly soaking the materials in methylene chloride.
- Using the “indirect” method, caffeine, which is water soluble, is extracted by soaking the materials in water. Many of the flavors and oils are also extracted during this process, so the solution is treated with methylene chloride and then returned to the material for reabsorption of the flavorings.
How Is Caffeine Removed To Produce Decaffeinatedcoffee
FergusClydesdale, head of the Food ScienceDepartment at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst,provides this answer:
“First, some background. Coffee is the second most popularbeverage in the world, after tea. Historians believed the use ofcoffee as a stimulant originated in ancient Abyssinia. Caffeine is the component of coffee that isresponsible for its mild stimulatory effect on the centralnervous system. A six-ounce cup of coffee typically containsapproximately 50 to 75 milligrams of caffeine, although theamount varies considerably depending on the method ofpreparation and the type of coffee Robusta coffee containsnearly twice as much caffeine as Arabica, for instance. Forpeople who are sensitive to caffeine, even 10 milligrams cancause discomfort. That is why nearly all decaffeinated coffeescontain less than 10 milligrams of caffeine per serving. Today decaffeinated coffeeaccounts for approximately 12 percent of total worldwide coffeeconsumption, or nearly 1 billion pounds per year.
“The first process for decaffeinating coffee was invented byLudwig Roselius in 1905. Roselius’s method used benzene, apotentially toxic hydrocarbon, to remove caffeine frompremoistened, green coffee beans. Modern decaffeinationprocesses are much more gentle many make that point by claimingto be ‘naturally decaffeinated.’
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