Coffee Beans Roasting

Subjecting the beans to water is part of the decaffeinating process. The berries from the coffee plant are rinsed after picking and the purpose of this is to soften the outer fruit, which makes it easier for the bean removal. One technique for removing caffeine from the coffee bean is to treat them with hot water and then after this they are immersed in methylene chloride for rinsing to remove the caffeine properly. The green or roasted beans are warmed in hot water or steam .This means that the bean pores will open once they are rinsed with methylene chloride, which causes the caffeine to leach, which can then be washed away. A second technique to remove the caffeine is to subject the beans for several hours to hot water and what happens here is that the caffeine seeps into the water. Rinsing with the methylene chloride however is still a necessity as it adheres to the caffeine without removing the flavor components. Using this method however of soaking in hot water has caused the flavor of the beans to be extracted into the water so once the coffee beans are treated with the methylene chloride they are then soaked again back into the same water where they were originally soaking. They will once again absorb the flavor compounds . Another method used to produce to decaff coffee is the Swiss method is an entirely different process but it also soaks the beans for several hours in hot water . With this method though there is no methylene chloride used. What happens here is by using activated charcoal to filter the water which removes the caffeine. Most of the manufacturer’s now producing coffee today finds that the first method is the least expensive but quality control is of the utmost importance. To the surprise of many, the darker roasts are less acidic and contain less caffeine. This is because of the roasting process. If one is able to detect the difference between caffeine coffee and decaffeinated coffee it is usually because of the bitter taste which caffeine produces. Caffeine content varies in different coffees. For example a 8 oz. Cup of brewed coffee with contain about 60-120 mg of caffeine compared to a instant 8 oz coffee containing 70mg. Double espresso coffee is pretty potent containing about 70mg of caffeine in a 2oz serving. Decaff coffee is reduced in caffeine down to anywhere between 1-5mg per 8oz serving.