Your Fair Trade & Organic Coffee Fix

Did you know that most coffee is decaffeinated using methylene chloride? Emerald Frog uses the Swiss, or “CO2″ method.

Decaf, Good or Bad?

Recently a variety of the coffee tree was discovered that naturally contains almost no caffeine. Until and unless that species finds its way into commercial production, we’re left with the current methods for removing unwanted caffeine from coffee. But how do those methods affect the taste of our java?

Blind taste tests suggest that most people can’t really tell the difference between decaf and regular, provided both kinds are processed properly and the cup brewed well. But, for those who can…

Among the methods for removing caffeine from coffee is treatment with hot water, followed by rinsing in methylene chloride.

Maybe you didn’t know your coffee had already seen water before you got to it? In fact, several times. The berries are rinsed after picking to soften the outer fruit for removal, then rinsed again to help eliminate the remaining flesh.

And possibly you were unaware your grounds had taken a dip in the swimming pool before being served. (Ok, swimming pool water is really dilute hydrochloric acid, not methylene chloride. Never let a chemist stand between you and a good line.)

So, the taste difference is less likely to come from the presence or absence of caffeine as from any remaining processing chemicals and whether they removed flavor-producing components.

Chemical removal of the caffeine from green, unroasted beans starts by warming them in hot water or steam. That opens the bean’s pores. Then the beans are rinsed in methylene chloride, which binds to the caffeine and is then flushed away.

Alternatively, the beans can be soaked for several hours in hot water, where the caffeine leaches out into the bath. The beans are removed and methylene chloride introduced to the bath. There it bonds with the caffeine, not the flavored components that have washed out of the bean. The beans are then soaked again where they reabsorb the flavor compounds.

An entirely different process, called the Swiss method, also soaks the beans in hot water for several hours, but no methylene chloride is used. Instead the caffeine is removed by filtering the water through activated charcoal. More or less pure carbon, the molecular structure of activated charcoal has been altered to provide a large surface area for other molecules to stick to.

The first method is less expensive and so is preferred by most manufacturers. And – no surprise – there are ongoing debates about whether it degrades the taste. As usual, quality control makes the largest difference. But, there are even techniques available to the individual for reducing caffeine intake.

Darker, less acidic, roasts already contain less caffeine as a consequence of the roasting process. And blends of decaf and regular are an option for those who simply must cut down.

As to the taste…. Well, as in any issue of taste, individual preferences generally swamp any objective chemical differences. Since caffeine has an inherently bitter taste, many can detect its presence or absence. Whether that makes decaf good or bad is, as they say, a matter of taste.

Copyright 2006 Ellery Coleman, reprinted with permission

Ellery Coleman has been a coffee drinker for many years and enjoys several cups of coffee each morning. He is an Internet Entrepreneur with a special interest in Internet Marketing.  http://www.donecoffee.com/

Pour Over This Sage Advice from Food Network Guru Alton Brown

According to Food Network personality and food science guru Alton Brown, “Brewing a simply perfect cup of Joe can be perfectly simple, if you stick to some basic guidelines.”  Now, if you are not familiar with Alton Brown, this headline sounds altogether too bland to lead to any useful advice.  But once you get to know Alton Brown, you will find that you cannot help but to respect his advice… and you will want to follow it.

For one thing, Alton Brown is the creator and host of the Food Network television show Good Eats and head commentator on Iron Chef America.  He enthusiastically pours his wealth of knowledge for the science of cooking and food into every show. 

For another, Mr. Brown never, ever sacrifices taste for convenience.  Occasionally, when he is making pickles or tortilla chips from scratch, it is clear that the extra steps are extensive, expensive, and therefore ‘nice to haves.’  However, when it comes to coffee, his added steps are very manageable, and the result is tangible … upping the ante to ‘have to haves.’

And what does our favorite food science guru insist goes into a jolly good cup of joe? 

In a nutshell:

• Buy quality beans
• Buy whole beans – do not settle
• Look for a foil-style bag with a one-way valve
• No valve = stale coffee
• Stale = not desirable
• Buy only 1 week’s supply … or several small sealed packages
• Grind right before brewing
• Want mild coffee? Brew to full strength, then dilute with hot water to prevent over-extraction (bitterness)
• A gold mesh filter brings out regional nuances in flavor
• A pot of coffee on a heating element leads to bitterness
• Bitterness = bad

As someone who never drank coffee until recently, discovering the right way to brew it has changed my entire outlook on java, and, indeed, my life.  The problem was that pre-ground coffee is simply too bitter.  So now I get beans from my reliable purveyor – making sure I have a foil-type bag with the one way valve – and grind the beans as I need them.  I went from drinking diet soda in the morning to black coffee, because the taste of freshly-roasted, freshly-ground coffee beans is simply excellent.  I liked it so much that I started a company – www.emeraldfrog.com.

And those are results I will enjoy pouring over.

Cheers!

Coffee Snobs: Rejoice!

You can say what you want about the high priced coffeeshops all over the country … they have actually done us a favor.  No longer do we accept the stale, pre-ground coffee available for five dollars a pound at the grocery store.  America has become a nation of coffee snobs, and even in this economy – that is a good thing.  Truly!

Even with the financial system on the skids, coffee snobs can rejoice.  Brewing coffee at home is the new black … black coffee, that is.  Or, for those of us who insist on caramel mocha lattes (read: dessert masquerading as coffee) there is hope for us as well – without having to finance it by the cup.  There are coffee sprinkles from Coffee Accents in chocolate, vanilla, amaretto, cinnamon and more!  There are Torani flavor shots in caramel, hazelnut and vanilla!  Hallelujah!

But delicioso coffee flavors alone cannot get the job done.  It is crucially important to NOT DRINK STALE COFFEE.  Say it with me: “I will not drink stale coffee.”  And if you are buying your coffee pre-ground, you are buying stale coffee.  That is why it tastes more bitter than the coffee you receive at an upscale restaurant.  As soon as the air hits the inside of the beans, it starts to get stale.  It is absolutely advantageous it to grind your coffee yourself.  You are worth it!

Yes, it requires an extra step, but with the availability of nifty products like the Cuisinart Grind and Brew, you can get your hands on a single machine that does it all.  If the $160 price tag is a no-no in this economy, you can still get a restaurant quality burr grinder from Cuisinart for about $50 or a simple blade grinder for about $20.  Check out www.emeraldfrog.com to buy.  Emerald Frog has coffee beans and flavorings, too.