Charcoal or CarbonIn this indirect contact method, unroasted beans soak in hot water to draw off the caffeine. The resulting solution, which contains caffeine as well as other flavor and aroma elements, is separated from the beans and sent through a bed of activated charcoal or carbon filters to remove the caffeine.Next, as in other methods, the water containing the remaining flavor compounds is returned to the beans. The beans are then dried. The coffee industry often refers to this decaffeination method as "Swiss Water Process" because a Swiss company originally developed and patented the procedure. Yet another method of decaffeination uses Triglycerides. |