The great success of coffee through the centuries is no less due to the pleasant aroma of the drink but also to the stimulating properties that derive from caffeine. However, it must be said that the effects of this alkaloid on blood circulation, heart and nervous system are not positive for all people. Indeed, for many people, the effects of the coffee drink can be even negative. It is precisely from this motivation, from this necessity, already before the end of the last century, the elaboration studies for the creation of the first decaffeinated coffee intensified.
The unsuccessful attempts are not counted and neither are those (Nicolai and then Detlefsen, Wimmer and many others) that gave some results. It took until 1905 to reach the first tangible goal. In fact, the German Ludwing Roselius, perfecting the attempts of those who had preceded him, developed a fairly rudimentary and complicated procedure, managing to create
coffee without caffeine avoiding to alter too much the taste and aroma of the drink. It can therefore be mentioned, as a historical fact, that the city of Bremen should be considered the cradle of the
practice of decaffeination while the Roselius may be considered the father.
Of course, the process he devised, as previously mentioned, was rather rudimentary, so much so that the detailed specifications have not survived. Over time, however, the
method has been modified and perfected through increasingly advanced extraction techniques. So let’s explore the
characteristics of decaf coffee and then get closer to the idea of experimenting with a
new recipe, relaxing and satisfying, like that of
cold coffee.
Nowadays the industries that deal with the extraction of caffeine from beans follow a
very complex system that, below, we try to expose as
simply as possible.
First of all, the natural raw coffee is subjected to swelling by the action of water vapors and in vertical cylindrical tanks or in large rotating drums.
The purpose of this operation is to obtain that - by bulging and stirring protracted until the grains have not increased their
natural water content by a good 20% or 30% - the grains themselves
become very permeable and their pores open somewhat.
In fact, in this situation
the caffeine salts are broken down and the caffeine lends itself to being extracted from the surface of the grains through the open pores, through the intervention of special volatile organic solvents. Briefly, however, it can be said that the operation develops through
deep washing, under pressure or even vacuum, hot or cold and continuously or even discontinuous.
When the
caffeine extraction has reached the level set by the operator, the most difficult and important task is imposed on them, the one in which
the traces and residues of the solvent must be eliminated, a technique that, however, is not used by all companies, in our specific case CAFFÈ ROEN, which prefers to refer to cutting-edge natural processes based on ethyl acetate, avoiding to involve harmful solvents!Indeed, as can be understood, this is
an operation that must be carried out with the utmost scruple since these solvents can leave traces, such as foreign smells and tastes but not only,
can also be harmful to human health.
It is important to note that the solvent, whatever it is, is removed from the coffee through a
further washing with powerful steam currents at high pressures, while the beans recover the normal degree of humidity. At this point, decaffeinated coffee, which differs from green coffee not treated only for the slightly darker color, due to the effect of heat, can proceed to the normal stages of roasting and grinding before being consumed.
Is decaf coffee carcinogenic?
We will develop and conclude the
issue of decaffeinated coffee by reporting, with the accusations of the press and consumer organizations and with the fears expressed by the people on the street,
the opinion of doctors and scientists as well as the attestations of professionals, For these, the roasters and above all, the technicians of the decaffeination industries.
However, before attaching - as they say - the oxen to the cart, it seems appropriate to dwell a moment on the solvents used in the past in question and their
general characteristics.
DECAFFEINATED COFFEE: THE MAIN SOLVENTS
It should be remembered that one of the first solvents, if not the first one, used for this purpose was
benzol, industrially derived from oil. However, fortunately, this solvent was
abandoned early because of the known and unknown risks to human health and its unpleasant smell. In addition, in addition to eliminating caffeine, benzol also eliminated other positive components of coffee. Its removal was intended to
prevent the risk that decaffeinated coffee could become
carcinogenic.
More recently, specifically
about 20-30 years ago, the chemical solvents used to extract caffeine from the beans were
trichloroethylene, dichloroethylene and methylene chloride. So the question arises: decaffeinated coffee hurts? Let’s start by
analyzing the main solvents used in its production.
Decaffeinated coffee: Trichloroethylene
With the help of our old friend and faithful science, we can say that the first of these products, Trichloroethylene, is liquid, clear, colorless as well as of
chloroform, pungent, non-flammable and toxic odor.
In addition, Trichloroethylene is insoluble in water, dissolves most fixed and volatile oils and is a good rubber solvent. It is commonly used for degreasing metals, oils, greases, waxes, resins, rubber, paints, paints and fortunately, it is NOT used anymore to decaffeinate coffee beans.
Decaffeinated coffee: Dichloroethylene
As for Dichloroethylene, we can conclude that, perhaps more than Trichloroethylene, it adapted to the needs by presenting itself as a
colourless liquid, mobile, volatile and with a delicate sweetish smell. In fact, it is particularly suitable for the
extraction of ethereal oils and naturally caffeine
at low temperatures. Although slightly
toxic, it is used in the pharmaceutical field as an anesthetic. However, for reasons that escape us, this solvent has also been
abandoned by the industries in the production of decaffeinated coffee.
Decaffeinated coffee: Metilendicloruro
Before accepting unreservedly the lively protest that comes to us as an echo from overseas, we would like to examine carefully the
issue of Dichloromethane, also known as Methylene chloride or Methylene cycler. This substance was
mainly used in decaffeination processes, and was the only solvent involved in the fervent controversy triggered by the smear campaign against the production of decaffeinated coffee.
Even from a simple phonetic consideration it emerges that this chemical was industrially produced from methane or methylene chloride. It was a volatile liquid, colourless, practically non-flammable, stable in the air and with a characteristic penetrating smell similar to that of ether.
According to studies, Dichloromethane is an important
solvent for mineral, vegetable and animal oils, fats, ethereal oils, alkaloids, resins, waxes, bitumen, rubber, chloro-rubber, polyvinyl acetate, lacquers, polystyrene and more. Its
solubility in water is partial but is completely soluble in alcohol and ether. It was widely used in pharmacopoeia as an active ingredient and for degreasing wool, leather and metals. It was also
used to prepare adhesives, as a base for paint strippers, for dewaxing mineral oils and in the rubber industry.
After reading the previous paragraphs, it now seems certain the possibility that decaffeinated coffee will hurt. The production methods of the last thirty years seem to be vitiated by carcinogenic chemical processes. However, in order
to get an answer to these questions, we continue our detailed analysis on decaffeinated coffee that in the next paragraphs will provide us with the appropriate solutions. We will find out if it is worth considering coffee among the
Christmas gift ideas.
