Let's Settle This ― Is Decaf Coffee Bad For You?
Not only does coffee seem to be really good for your gut health, but some studies suggest its potential benefits extend to the decaffeinated versions as well.
Still, some advocacy groups maintain that the caffeine-free version of their cup of Joe is “unsafe” for humans to drink thanks to the side effects of its processing.
But is that true, and how is the caffeine removed from coffee in the first place?
Well, luckily coffee legend James Hoffmann spoke to gut health company ZOE’s co-founders Jonathan Wolf and professor Tim Spector about that very topic.
On their podcast, he got into how the caffeine is removed and what it means for the bean.
How does coffee get decaffeinated?
James Hoffmann explained that coffee beans get decaffeinated at their pre-roasting “raw seed” stage.
It can be done a few ways, he added. One option is to “sort of bind the caffeine into a solvent [usually methylene chloride], into a solution without taking other things out of the coffee as well” ― that’s the kind people worry about.
You can also get rid of caffeine using water using what’s known as a Swiss water process involving a charcoal filter.
James explains that it’s also possible to use a process called “supercritical carbon dioxide” ― when Co2 is turned into a solvent and added to the beans ― and an “ethyl acetate” process, which “scares people” but really just uses sugar cane.
All methods rely on chemical intervention.
“All of it is completely safe. It’s absolutely safe and done well, should have a very limited impact on taste,” James continued.
He went so far as to say that if you’re buying freshly-roasted decaf beans and grinding them at home, “it can be an uncompromised taste experience, or barely compromised one.“
So, is it less healthy?
Professor Tim Spector said on the ZOE podcast that, though decaf isn’t studied as often as caffeinated coffee, “most of the data, not all, of the data points to decaf having some health properties as well.”
It’s “nearly” as good for us, he suggests, and he certainly doesn’t seem to think it’s bad for our health.
“I think this all adds up that if it’s well-made coffee that still contains polyphenols, that hasn’t been killed off in the industrial process of making perhaps the cheapest, instant coffees, then there will be some benefits also because the polyphenols are still there and the fibre is still there,” he continued.
Health information site Healthline agrees, saying “Decaf has most of the same health benefits as regular coffee but none of the side effects.”
