What’s the point of decaf coffee?

September 5, 2018|Russell Volz|Brewing And Drinking

Oh my gosh! What’s the point of decaf coffee? Man, I understand that question better than most people. I love coffee. No, more specifically, I love really good coffee. So again, what’s the point of decaf coffee?

Why Decaf?

Surprisingly, over 10% of coffee drinkers drink decaf coffee. All I can say is that they probably like the taste of bad coffee. Let me put it this way. Have you ever had a good cup of decaf coffee? I found decaf coffee pathetic.

That sentiment became especially true, when I found out how industrial coffee companies decaffeinate their coffee. To this day, most decaffeinated coffee is made with volatile solvents such as methylene chloride and ethyl acetate (i.e., chemicals similar to formaldehyde).

It’s kind of funny that the FDA allows “decaf” coffee to contain up to 3% caffeine and still be called “decaf”. Go figure. So, if decaf is made with chemicals, still contains 3% caffeine, and tastes like zombie guts, what’s the pointe of decaf coffee? Right?

Swiss Water Processed

I’m 100% with you on this. Until, I bought some Swiss Water Processed decaf coffee, which is made using 100% pure water and is 99.9% caffeine free. But! As they say, the proof is in the pudding. Surprisingly, the Swiss Water Processed decaf coffee that we buy and roast tastes 99% as good as our regular coffee.

We actually get more compliments on our decaf coffee than we get on our regular coffee. Maybe that’s because we use Swiss Water Processed beans and we gently roast the beans. You see, decaf coffee does not take well to a dark roast. By gently roasting the Swiss Water Processed beans to a medium brown, leaves the coffee tasting like… like… coffee. What a idea, huh?

The Decaf Switch

To prove my point, when we serveed coffee at our church home group, we didn’t tell anyone that it was decaf. Finally, someone asked if we had decaf and I had to tell everyone that they’d been drinking decaf for weeks.

So, what’s the point of decaf coffee? Well, if you can’t tell the difference between regular and decaf, then in the evening, you might as well drink decaf.