Ah, decaf coffee! It’s a way to enjoy your favorite hot beverage without the jitter-inducing caffeine. If you crave the flavor of coffee but not the way it makes you feel, you might order up a decaf coffee or espresso when you visit your favorite coffee store. If you’re caffeine intolerant, you might see that decaf cup of Joe as a godsend. But are there downsides to sipping decaf coffee, beyond caffeine?
You may have seen warnings in the news about drinking decaf coffee. The reason? Concerns about the solvents used to extract caffeine from coffee. Let’s take a closer look at whether you’re doing your body more harm than good when you sip decaf coffee.
The Decaffeination Process: A Quick Overview
First, you must know how manufacturers make decaf coffee. The most common way is to use solvents to remove the caffeine. These solvents include methylene chloride and ethyl acetate. When manufacturers add one of these solvents to coffee beans, they selectively bind to the caffeine, so it can be removed. Once the caffeine is out, they steam the beans to remove any solvent left over. And that’s where the concern lies – residual solvents left on the coffee beans. Should you be concerned?
Methylene Chloride: A Cause for Concern?
Methylene chloride is a solvent used in industrial applications. It’s one thing to have it in products you don’t consume, but it raises eyebrows when it ends up in food or beverages. Even the World Health Organization and the Environmental Protection Agency are scrutinizing methylene chloride due to concerns that it may cause cancer. And here’s the strange thing. They’ve banned using methylene chloride in other products, but still allow it in decaf coffee.
Ethyl Acetate: A Safer Alternative?
The other solvent manufacturers use for decaffeinating coffee is ethyl acetate. Of the two, ethyl acetate is less of a concern because it comes from nature. Everyone likes natural, right? However, natural doesn’t always mean safe. Ethyl acetate is nature – it’s derived from fruit, including apples and bananas. Yet, the ethyl acetate coffee manufacturers use is not natural but synthesized in a laboratory.
To decaffeinate coffee with ethyl acetate, manufacturers steam green coffee beans. Then they soak the beans in a diluted vat of ethyl acetate. Once ethyl acetate coats the coffee beans, it removes the caffeine from the beans. Then, as with methylene chloride, they steam the beans to remove leftover solvent.
Unlike methylene chloride, the World Health Organization and the Environmental Protection Agency aren’t actively eyeing ethyl acetate as a potential carcinogen. Based on current science, there’s no evidence that ethyl acetate causes cancer or other health issues. Even environmentalists see it as a safer and more environmentally friendly alternative to methylene chloride. The Food and Drug Administration limits the amount of ethyl acetate residue coffee beans can contain. It’s limited to ten parts per million. The European Union has even stricter regulations for ethyl acetate residue, limiting the amount allowed to two parts per million.
Natural Decaffeination Methods
Decaffeinating with ethyl acetate is considered natural, as you also find this substance in fruits. Although it’s not completely natural, as coffee manufacturers use a synthetic form of ethyl acetate. Still, decaf coffee decaffeinated with ethyl acetate is likely safer, especially if you drink a lot of decaf.
Safer Alternatives: Exploring Chemical-Free Decaf
If you don’t like the idea of manufacturers using any chemicals in your coffee, you have other options. There are ways to decaffeinate coffee that don’t involve chemicals. One of the most common is the Swiss Water Process.
The Swiss Water Process uses water to extract caffeine. Manufacturers soak coffee beans in water to extract the caffeine. Then they use an activated carbon filter to remove the caffeine. It’s a simple, chemical-free method of getting most of the caffeine out of coffee beans.
Another approach that some manufacturers use is carbon dioxide decaffeination, another solvent-free method that doesn’t add chemicals to your coffee cup. For this decaf method, they blast the beans with high-pressure carbon dioxide. The pressure and the carbon dioxide remove the caffeine. One of the bonuses of this method is how environmentally friendly it is and the fact that it doesn’t involve any chemicals.
Another advantage of non-solvent methods of removing caffeine is it retains more of the antioxidants in the coffee beans. So, a cup of coffee decaffeinated with the Swiss water or carbon dioxide method may be a healthier cup of Joe due to the lack of residual solvents and the higher antioxidant content.
Is Decaf Coffee Extracted with Solvents Unsafe?
There are growing concerns about using solvents, particularly methylene chloride, to decaffeinate coffee. However, most experts believe that the amount of solvent that remains on decaffeinated coffee beans is not enough to be a health risk. Still, you might feel more comfortable choosing decaf coffee made with the Swiss water or carbon dioxide method.
Regardless of which you choose, decaffeinated coffee isn’t entirely free of caffeine. Even decaf coffee retains up to 5% of its caffeine. When you sip an 8-ounce cup of decaffeinated coffee, you can expect to consume between 5 and 10 milligrams of caffeine. That’s less than the 70 to 140 milligrams of caffeine you get from an 8-ounce cup of caffeinated coffee. Still, you might want to avoid even decaf if you’re exquisitely sensitive to caffeine.
Conclusion
Should you keep sipping decaf coffee? There are concerns about solvent residues in decaf coffee, but the consensus is that the small amount of residual solvent in decaffeinated coffee (solvent extracted) isn’t enough to obsess over. If you want solvent-free coffee, look for decaf coffee decaffeinated via natural methods. It usually says so on the label. Remember, the next time you sip on a cup of decaf, it’s not just about the taste—it’s about making an informed choice for your health.
References:
- Goodson, Amy. “How Much Caffeine Is in Decaf Coffee?” Healthline. Healthline Media, September 15, 2018. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/caffeine-in-decaf.
- Colombo R, Papetti A. Decaffeinated coffee, and its benefits on health: focus on systemic disorders. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2021;61(15):2506-2522. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2020.1779175. Epub 2020 Jun 18. PMID: 32551832.”How is coffee decaffeinated, and is it safe to drink?.” 29 Aug. 2024, https://cen.acs.org/food/food-science/coffee-decaffeinated-safe-drink/102/i27.
- “Are the methods used to decaffeinate coffee bad for me?.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5pl7tvwPmfpdHSngXnzggRT/are-the-methods-used-to-decaffeinate-coffee-bad-for-me.
- “How is caffeine removed to produce decaffeinated coffee?.” 21 Oct. 1999, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-is-caffeine-removed-t/.
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