

Low Caffeine Or No Caffeine? Facts About Decaf

Decaf Coffee And Other Decaffeinated Beverages

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Are you under doctor’s orders to switch from regular to decaf, perhaps due to pregnancy or a medical condition? Or does your current caffeine intake leave you feeling jittery, irritable or nauseated, wanting nothing more than to cut back or eliminate caffeine altogether? With the proliferation of super-sized coffee concoctions and sugary, high-caffeine energy drinks, it’s no wonder so many people are switching to decaf options these days. For die-hard coffee drinkers, decaf can be a tough sell, as it’s difficult to remove the caffeine from coffee without removing a lot of the other compounds responsible for flavor. But there are plenty of flavorful decaf beverage options out there, including coffee, if you know where to look.

What is caffeine, and why do we love it so much?
Used by people for several thousand years, caffeine is a naturally occurring alkaloid found in dozens of plant species, including coffee, tea and cacao trees. It is a habit-forming stimulant (albeit a relatively mild one) that increases heart rate and blood pressure. You may use it to help you wake up in the morning, and to help you concentrate and stay alert throughout the day. Several over-the-counter medications (such as headache relief preparations) contain caffeine, as it enhances the efficacy of pain relievers like aspirin and acetaminophen.

How much caffeine am I consuming, and how much is too much?
Be aware that coffee generally contains substantially more caffeine than tea and other beverages like soda. Coffee made from Robusta beans (usually cheaper brands) has approximately twice as much caffeine as coffee made from the Arabica bean varieties, which are far more common.
Drip-brewed coffee can have anywhere from 60- 180 milligrams of caffeine per standard cup, depending on the variety of bean, blend composition, grind fineness, water temperature, and roast color of the coffee. These factors also affect the caffeine content of decaffeinated coffee, which usually has between 2-6 milligrams of coffee per cup. For many people, the caffeine in decaf is undetectable, but for those who are extremely sensitive to it (especially due to medical conditions), even amounts this small can be too much.

If you consume coffee and other beverages containing caffeine on a daily basis, chances are you know what happens when you suddenly stop or drastically limit your consumption. According to a 2004 study by Roland Griffiths (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) and Laura Juliano (American University’s Department of Psychology), almost all adults in North America consume the caffeine equivalent of three standard six-ounce cups of coffee every day. This works out to approximately 280 milligrams of caffeine daily, more than enough to cause symptoms of withdrawal, which indicates chemical dependence.

How do I cut back on caffeine, or cut it out altogether?
Eliminating caffeine all at once is rarely a good idea, especially if your intake is high. Even if you only consume a safe, moderate amount of caffeine on a daily basis, suddenly stopping altogether can cause the unpleasant symptoms of caffeine withdrawal to set in.
In their 2004 study, Griffiths and Juliano identified the major symptoms of caffeine withdrawal syndrome, which include headaches, fatigue, mood changes, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. Slowly reducing the amount of caffeine you consume can keep these symptoms to a minimum. is an excellent resource for figuring out your current caffeine intake; with it you can formulate a realistic and perhaps even symptom-free plan for reducing that amount.

Many national brands available in supermarkets sell half-caffeinated versions of their coffees. You can also make your own half-caf or low-caf blends. For a gradual step-down, mix three parts regular coffee with one part decaffeinated coffee. The more accustomed you get to the flavor and reduction in caffeine, you’ll be able to go down to half and half, then down further to one part regular coffee to three parts decaf. Before you know it, decaf will be your beverage of choice.

You can also try substituting one caffeine-free beverage a day for one of your typical cups of coffee. Try a decaf chai, a spicy, flavorful option which is actually free of caffeine to begin with, or a decaf green tea, which is rich in antioxidants. Going decaf may not be easy at first, but it could get you out of a beverage rut and introduce you to a whole new level of health and well-being.
How is coffee decaffeinated, and what is the best method for preserving flavor?
There are several methods for removing most of the caffeine from coffee, some much better than others in terms of health and flavor preservation. Older processes of decaffeination often left consumers with a thin, bitter-tasting, unsatisfying coffee imposter that only the most devoted of coffee drinkers could stomach. The Swiss water process, although expensive, is an all-natural decaffeination process that uses no chemicals. The beans are soaked in water and drained. The water drained from the beans is passed through charcoal filters to remove the caffeine, then pumped back in to rehydrate the beans before roasting, which returns some of the vital flavor chemicals back to the decaf beans.

Until very recently, the direct method of decaffeination produced the best-tasting affordable decaf coffee (and tea) on the market. This method involves steaming and repeatedly rinsing unroasted coffee beans (or tea leaves) with a solvent, usually methylene chloride, to remove the caffeine. The water containing the rinsed-out caffeine is pumped out, and new, fresh water is pumped in. Unfortunately, the water also rinses away much of the 400-plus compounds responsible for the coffee’s flavor. Although roasting beans decaffeinated via the direct method removes all traces of the solvent, there is a newer and more healthful option for producing flavorful decaf coffee beans: the CO2 method.
The CO2 method of decaffeination is fast becoming popular among large and independent coffee roasters alike. Tea leaves can also be decaffeinated in this way. The flavor of the coffee remains relatively uncompromised by the process, which is great news for coffee enthusiasts. The green coffee beans are soaked in liquid carbon dioxide (which binds to the caffeine inside them) under extremely high pressure. The carbon dioxide is rinsed away and filtered through charcoal or water to remove the caffeine, and then reused. Decaf beans from this method retain their natural flavor-producing oils.

Does decaf still have caffeine in it?
Although the amounts are small by comparison to regular products, there is still caffeine in decaf coffee. Caffeine amounts vary depending on factors like plant species, roasting time, temperature, and method of decaffeination. If your doctor has advised you to go completely caffeine-free, perhaps due to hypertension or an anxiety disorder, even amounts as low as 10 milligrams (easily found in two large servings of decaf coffee) can cause observable adverse affects. Decaf and caffeine-free do not mean the same thing. Decaf products (coffee and tea both) have had most of their caffeine removed, while caffeine-free beverages never contained it in the first place.

In 2004, a University of Campinas, Brazil study isolated the genetic switch responsible for caffeine content in the Coffea arabica species, which means that a naturally caffeine-free coffee bean that tastes just like regular coffee could be on the market within several years. The larger challenge lies in finding a way to successfully breed this strain into the existing commercial strains responsible for most of the world’s Arabica coffee.
Any good decaf or caffeine-free beverage suggestions?
For decaf coffee, try Lakota Coffee’s Decaf Espresso blend. This one is especially nice if you like a full-bodied dark roast coffee. It is decaffeinated by the CO2 method that’s gaining in popularity these days. Grind it fine for your espresso machine if you like – your taste buds won’t know the difference. Equal Exchange is another good source for high-quality CO2-process coffees, all of which are Fair Trade Certified. At your local grocery store, look for Community Coffee’s decaf variety. This New Orleans favorite is rich, mellow and a little bit sweet. Try refreshing caffeine-free herbal teas like peppermint and hibiscus. Pour them over ice and add a sprig of fresh mint for a pick-me-up that won’t make your heart race.

Caffeine is the most used psychoactive substance in the world, and it’s easy to dismiss its effects as harmless. If you’ve been starting your day with several cups of regular joe for as long as you can remember, doing something different can seem like a formidable task. Almost all adult Americans rely on caffeine (usually in the form of coffee) on a daily basis, so you’re not alone. If you need to reduce or eliminate your caffeine consumption, take it slow, be smart and have a tasty low-caf or no-caf treat. Your taste buds and your heart rate will thank you for making the switch, or at least taking it easy.

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