hose that consider the decaffeination process somehow unacceptably “invasive” or “unnatural” are overlooking the fact that coffee is already a substantially processed food. While some decaffeination methods involve such chemical additions as carbon dioxide in their processes, those methods tend to be applied to coffees grown under chemical-heavy conditions to begin with. The breakthrough provided by the Swiss Water Coffee Company is a method of decaffeination that includes nothing but coffee and water. It’s no more invasive than the essential steps coffee undergoes in fermentation tanks or on drying patios before being bagged for export.
The Swiss Water method is to soak any green coffee in a solution of water and pure green coffee extract. The composition of the extract is in equilibrium with the solids within the coffee beans. These are what contribute to flavor and other elements of cup quality, and these components remain inside the bean. The bean releases only its caffeine into the bath, which is then drained away and the beans are dried once again. The resulting cup is often completely indistinguishable, even by top-tier industry professionals, from an untreated cup of the same coffee roasted and served equivalently.
The only justifiable reason to look down upon decaf would be if the entire category was inherently somehow less tasty, which is what the Swiss Water Coffee Studio has set out to disprove once and for all. Through a bold, public display of specialty coffee, the “Art of Coffee” event is demonstrating how, when executed with the same degree of care as its regular counterpart, decaf is every bit as complex, fascinating and delicious. And despite the vociferous forehead-slapping of the blogosphere, Michael Strumpf, Director of Coffee for the Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company, told Daily Coffee News that reception on the ground has actually been warm and enthusiastic.
“For the most part, everybody’s been very receptive. Some people were super happy that we’re serving decaffeinated coffee,” said Strumpf of the pop-up’s visitors, who had three coffees via Chemex, two different espressos, and a cold brew from which to choose. All of the offerings were sourced by Swiss Water and roasted by the nearby Cafe Grumpy, and tasters with enough time to spare were encouraged to sample them all. “Nobody who was there drinking coffee was outraged.”