Guatemala - Swiss Water Decaf Espresso

About This Coffee

This coffee from Guatemala is decaffeinated using the Swiss Water® Process. This special method of decaffeination uses water, temperature and time. Incidentally, the name does not refer to the water being Swiss, but to the country where this method was developed. Most methods of decaffeinating use chemical agents such as methylene, chloride or ethyl acetate, which bind the caffeine from the green beans. A process in which caffeine but often also taste is lost. In the Swiss Water® Process, the green beans are placed in small quantities in a bath with a caffeine-free 'green coffee extract'. The caffeine from the coffee beans is extracted from the bean and into the water. This takes about 10 hours. In the meantime, the caffeine content is carefully checked until the beans are 99.9% caffeine-free. The green coffee extract is then filtered using activated carbon to make it caffeine-free again so that it can be reused. The beans are dried again to their original moisture content (usually around 11%) and packed in new jute bags. The result of this process is a very good decaf coffee, with flavors of caramel, dark chocolate and red apple. In milk drinks we recognize the taste of oreo cookies!