Swiss Water

More changes coming from Everyday Joe's. This one is for our Decaf drinkers.

The most common way to remove caffeine from coffee is through the use of chemicals. Basically the beans are soaked in a chemical that absorbs the caffeine. Then the beans are removed from the chemical and the process starts again until about 99% of the caffeine is removed from the coffee bean. Methylene chloride or ethyl acetate are two of the common chemicals used.

Methylene chloride, also called dichloromethane, is a volatile, colorless liquid with a chloroform-like odor. Methylene chloride is used in various industrial processes, in many different industries including paint stripping, pharmaceutical manufacturing, paint remover manufacturing, and metal cleaning and degreasing. (Thanks OSHA) And some of you may know ethyl acetate is common in nail polish remover and it is also used in insect kill jars.

OK, before you freak out and throw that cup of decaf your drinking across the room in fear and disgust, know that it is safe. After the beans go through the decaffeinating process they are then roasted which is said to remove any remnants of the chemicals. And if that did not get every last molecule of chemicals out the coffee still needs to be brewed, which further "cleans" the coffee. So after the roasting and the brewing the coffee is considered safe for consumption. But there is a better way.

The most common name is "Swiss Water Processed" but others are "water processed" or "natural processed." Here is how it works... Green coffee beans are emerged in pure water that has been super saturated with coffee solids. The water naturally pulls the caffeine from the coffee beans. Then the water is passed through a carbon filter to remove the caffeine and the process is repeated. This is done for about 8 hours until the coffee is 99.9% caffeine free.

Like I mentioned before both methods are safe for consumption. But it is nice knowing that the decaf your drinking has only been through water and not chemicals. And it is also safer for the environment and the people who work to decaffeinate your coffee. That is why Everyday Joe's has decided to support the Swiss Water way of decaffeinating coffee.