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Decaf Coffee, Mountain Water Process

The problem with decaf is not removing the caffeine. It is what most producers use to remove it.

Every decaf we sell is water processed, Mountain Water or Swiss Water: no solvents at any stage. Whole bean or ground to your brew method.

  • Free shipping on coffee over $99
  • Otherwise shipping from $11.95 Australia wide
  • Next-day pickup in Sydney
  • Ground to your brew method the day it ships

Why most decaf tastes flat

Most of the world's decaf is solvent based. Green beans are treated with methylene chloride or ethyl acetate, which bond to caffeine and carry it away. It is cheap, and it strips out flavour compounds along with the caffeine. That is why so much decaf tastes papery.

The residue is regulated and considered safe. Taste is the real objection, not safety.

Decaf coffee beans

Mountain water process

Beans soak in water already saturated with everything soluble in coffee except caffeine. Because the water is full of coffee solubles, nothing else has anywhere to go, so only the caffeine leaves. No solvents at any stage.

Ours uses glacial meltwater from Pico de Orizaba in Mexico. You may also see the same principle sold as Swiss Water.

How much caffeine is actually left

Decaffeination removes about 97 to 99.9 percent. A decaf cup carries roughly 2 to 7mg against 80 to 100mg in a regular double shot.

So decaf is not caffeine free. Ten cups of decaf is roughly one regular coffee. Irrelevant for most people, but worth knowing if you have been told to avoid caffeine entirely.

Buy it smaller, and ground to order

Decaffeination is hard on the bean. It swells, softens and becomes more porous, so it stales faster than a caffeinated bean and it roasts differently, browning quicker and giving the roaster less margin for error.

Two practical consequences: buy decaf in smaller amounts and more often, and buy it ground to order. Pre-ground decaf sitting on a shelf is the worst version of an already fragile product. Every decaf comes in 250g, and most in 1kg too if you get through it faster. See the full decaf coffee beans range.

The full story: how decaf coffee is made. Ready to order? Back to the decaf.

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