Re:A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee
by criddell on Thursday July 25, 2024 @11:02AM
(#41069507)
I suspect that when you buy decaf beans from a roaster they don't aren't the ones decaffeinating the coffee beans. I bet roasters have a lot less choice when buying decaffeinated beans so I bet your theory is correct.
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Re:A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee
by edkennedy on Thursday July 25, 2024 @11:37AM
(#41069915)
There are two main decaf plants, one in Vancouver and one in Mexico.
The Mexican one is supposedly superior in taste, but the majority is processed through Vancouver with the Swiss Water plant. https://www.swisswater.com/blogs/sw/swiss-waters-new-decaffe...
Re:A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee
by xattt on Thursday July 25, 2024 @01:42PM
(#41071297)
Is this for North America or worldwide?
Re:A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee
by fourfun on Friday July 26, 2024 @01:32AM
(#41076025)
Definitely not worldwide, Colombia has a plant doing EA decaf
Re:A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee
by scottlamb on Thursday July 25, 2024 @12:38PM
(#41070644)
I've noticed many roasters have only one decaf option. But there are exceptions. Equator Coffees has many blends available in both regular and decaf, with the decaf costing slightly more (e.g. $15.30 vs. $15.75 for a subscribe-and-save 12 oz bag). They advertise "decaffeinated using the mountain water process of caffeine extraction", which I believe is the same as the article's Swiss water process. Not sure if they have their own equipment or if they assemble their blends, send them off, get them back and roast them.
Re:A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee
by jolmg on Thursday July 25, 2024 @05:33PM
(#41073640)
The decaf I buy states they have close ties with the farmers. The company they use for decaffeination seems to be a service-oriented company. You send them the raw coffee, they decaffeinate it, and then send it back with recommendations for roasting.
So, the "roaster" (if they don't use a separate company for that) does have the ability to select the exact same beans between their decaf and regular coffee products. Whether they sort the beans they get from the farmers and choose which go to be decaffeinated according to some criteria, is a separate thing.