It's Coffee, The Natural Way

IOL ^ | 6-23-2004

[Pompah]

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.

[LibKill]

I cannot endorse this.

[HitmanLV]

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).

[cyborg]

freeper wardaddy probably would agree!

[Gorzaloon]

Decaffeination is achieved by an industrial process in which the beans are exposed to a solvent to leach out the caffeine. I have a violent allergic reaction to this crap and I am the only person I have ever heard of who does.

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.

[Graybeard58]

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.

[Beaker]

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.

No, I think that dicholormethane is still used as well. I was very traumatized when I once synthesized bupropion and used vast quantities of fuming bromine to do so... *shudder*

[Gorzaloon]

Hi Beaky!

Check out this supercritical CO2 extraction process!