Looking for a way to keep sipping that iced coffee all day? While some have been choosing decaf for decades, many in the specialty scene are just tuning in. Regardless, decaffeinated coffee is more delicious than ever and an excellent option over ice. Here are some of our current spot favorites:
Brazil SWP: Almond, pecan, Oreo, cacao.
Colombia EA: Blackberry, orange, cranberry, jasmine.
Colombia MC: Chocolate, apricot, apple, nougat.
Ethiopia MC: Graham cracker, vanilla, plum, leather.
Indonesia Sumatra SWP: Apple, cinnamon, brown sugar, orange.
Mexico SWP Fairtrade Organic: Brown sugar, pecan, fig, lemon, malt.
Peru SWP Fairtrade Organic: Raisin, cacao, pecan.
What Do the Letters Mean?
Here’s a quick reminder about your processing options for decaf:
MWP
Mountain Water Process is a chemical-free decaffeination method that uses water from Pico de Orizaba, the highest mountain in Mexico. Green coffee is first soaked in this mountain water, allowing caffeine and other soluble compounds—like oils and flavor elements—to extract into the liquid. The water is then filtered to remove only the caffeine, creating a saturated solution. Fresh batches of green coffee are then soaked in this solution, which, being already full of coffee solubles (except caffeine), draws out just the caffeine while preserving most of the beans’ original flavor.
SWP
Swiss Water Process is another chemical-free decaffeination method that relies on selective diffusion. Like the Mountain Water Process, it begins with a “sacrificial batch” of green coffee used to create what Swiss Water calls Green Coffee Extract, or GCE. This extract is a water-based solution saturated with coffee solubles—everything but the caffeine. When green coffee is introduced to the GCE, the caffeine diffuses out of the beans while the flavor compounds remain intact. The GCE functions much like a sourdough starter or a kombucha “mother”: Once established, it’s preserved and regenerated over time with small additions of clean water, allowing for ongoing decaffeination without sacrificing new batches of coffee.
EA
Ethyl Acetate process uses a naturally occurring ester—typically derived from fermented sugarcane—as a safe, non-toxic solvent for decaffeination. To begin, green coffee is steamed to open the pores of the beans and make the caffeine more accessible. The beans are then repeatedly soaked in a solution of water and ethyl acetate, which selectively bonds with the caffeine molecules and removes them. After most of the caffeine has been extracted, the beans are rinsed thoroughly with fresh water and dried to their original moisture content.
MC
Methylene Chloride Process is a solvent-based method of direct decaffeination. Green coffee beans are first soaked in hot water to extract caffeine. The beans are then removed, and methylene chloride (MC) is added to the water to bond with the caffeine. The caffeine-containing solvent is skimmed off, and the beans are returned to the water to reabsorb any lost flavor compounds. This method removes 96 to 97 percent of the caffeine.
Methylene chloride is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which permits up to 10 parts per million (ppm) of residual MC in decaffeinated coffee. In practice, actual levels are typically 100 times lower than this limit. •
