Posted on 06/23/2004 4:32:35 PM PDT by blam
It's coffee, the natural way
June 23 2004 at 07:24AM
Paris - Delighted Brazilian scientists say they have found a rare variety of coffee plant that should provide the world's first cup of naturally decaffeinated but full-tasting coffee.
The home of the plant is in Ethiopia, but its remarkable qualities were spotted by agricultural researchers in Campinas, in Sao Paulo state, who were screening 3 000 coffee bushes that are being grown under a programme launched in 1987 aimed at reducing caffeine content in coffee beans.
The plants are varieties of Coffea arabica, a species which accounts for 70 percent of all coffee consumed in the world.
Three specimens of the precious variety, called AC1, AC2 and AC3, were found to be "almost completely free" of caffeine, the Brazilians say.
The study is reported on Thursday in the British science weekly, Nature. Lead researcher is Paulo Mazzafera of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas.
Decaffeinated coffee accounts for about 10 percent of the world coffee market, but experts say demand would soar if a way were found to produce decaffeinated beans naturally.
Decaffeination is achieved by an industrial process in which the beans are exposed to a solvent to leach out the caffeine.
But that also destroys many of the compounds that make up the complex bouquet of flavours in a good cup of coffee. The process is also energy intensive, and this adds to the price.
Last year, Japanese biotechnologists announced they had developed a genetically-modified bush that reduced the activity of caffeine genes in a common strain of coffee plant, Coffea canephora, by between 50 and 70 percent.
But genetically-engineered plants run into flak from environmentalists, who fear the altered genes could be handed on to other species and may also affect human health.
The Brazilian researchers say the next task is to transfer the genes from AC1, AC2 and AC3 into mainstream varieties of Coffea arabica.
The goal is a product which combines the best qualities - an easy-to-grow coffee that has full flavour but is naturally caffeine-free.
But this task can be done through conventional crossbreeding using tissue culture, and not through recombinant DNA, they believe.
"Given that Coffea arabica has a narrow genetic diversity and that even varieties from Ethiopia and Arabia, as well as old varieties, all produce high-quality coffee, it is likely that AC plants will produce a good beverage," they say.
Previous attempts to graft caffeine-free traits from a wild coffee plant found in Madagascar to Coffea arabica were disastrous.
This was because Coffea arabica has a strong genetic barrier that resists genes imported from other strains. The coffee tasted horrible.
Coffee belongs to the botanical family Rubiaceae, which has some 500 genera and over 6 000 species.
Beans are produced in more than 60 countries, providing a livelihood for 25 million farming families around the world.
Retail sales of coffee as a drink amount to more than 70 billion dollars a year, according to the International Coffee Organisation's website.
The Brazilian researchers say that the discovery highlights the advantages of gene banks, for it shows how stores of genetic diversity can offer commercial gain. - Sapa-AFP
Ten-Four on that decaf stuff.
I don't drink "Decaf" coffee or tea.
I don't drink "Lite Beer",or "Non-Alcholic beer"
And I don't hang out with thems that do.
I cannot endorse this.
Coffee is one of life's true genuine pleasures!
Then again, lots of things in Brazil are (a woman I know named Aurora comes to mind).
freeper wardaddy probably would agree!
Was that a long time ago? They used to use organic, and even chlorinated, solvents to extract the caffeine, but for the last 15-20 years, supercritical CO2 is used, and that leaves nothing of itself behind.
I was taking a course at the time when a classmate, a chemist from General Foods, told me that Coca-Cola and Pepsi were buying every gram of caffeine they could get out of the coffee.
From Here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylene_chloride
I found this:
Methylene chloride's volatility and ability to dissolve a wide range of organic compounds makes it an ideal solvent for many chemical processes. It is mainly used as a paint stripper and a degreaser. In the food industry, it is used to decaffeinate coffee and to prepare extracts of hops and other flavorings. Its volatility has led to its use as an aerosol propellant and as a blowing agent for polyurethane foams. It is also used as a fumigant pesticide for stored strawberries and grains. However, concerns about its health effects have led to a search for alternatives to it in many of these applications.
It's only been in the last ten years or so that I have had this reaction - The most painful headaches imaginable.
I am not doubting what you say about the decaf process, I only know what decaf does to me.
Sounds like it's in beer too (hops) I don't drink beer so that's not a problem.
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