Caffeine Facts

What is Caffeine?

Caffeine is a mild central nervous system stimulant. It is found in over 60 species of plants and trees. It has been accused of, without substancial foundation, practically every human affliction.

For most individuals moderate consumption of caffeine daily poses no problems. The increased alertness and capacity for work are well known. It is important to note that excessive consumption can cause sleep disturbance, caffeine nerves or stomach upset. Such sensations are often due to poor quality coffees, sourness and high acidity from under roasting.

It has a nutritional value as a source of the vitamin Niacin, a vital component for energy and protein metabolism. It is common in eggs, nuts, milk and cheese, but in coffee forms when roasting, the darker the roast the more Niacin. When dripped it should have 5-10% of NRC recommended dietary allowance of 13-19 along with moderate levels of iron and calcium.

When you drink a cup of coffee the caffeine is evenly distributed in the human body within one hour and easily passes the blood/brain barrier that even asprin can not do. It takes 5-6 hours for the level of coffe to drop by 50%.

How is Caffeine Removed? It is done with unroasted green coffee. Most common method is to soak in water, when caffeine gets close to the surface a solvent is used to extract. They are then rinsed and dried and roasted.

Methods of Decaffeniation

Direct Contact: The beans come directly into contact with the decaffeinating agent like methylene chloride to remove it, which leaves the flavor largely intact.

Indirect contact: Water draws off the caffeine and separtes from the beans, the solution is treated with a decaffeinating agent, then caffeine removed and finally the cleaned solution is put back into the coffee beans to reabsorb the flavor and oils.

Swiss Water Process: Most natural method, uses only water running through a charcol filter to remove, the disadvantage is that many of the flavor oils are removed as well. It is costly making this the most expensive decafinated coffees.