A new species of coffee tree has been discovered containing almost no caffeine. However, it's not in the production process and we have to manage with the most current technology to remove caffeine content from our coffee. What I think we all want to know is how this will affect coffee flavor in the future? Will we have to suffer bland espresso?

Tests with blind people clearly shows that humans cannot distinguish between regular or decaffeinated coffee. That is based on current processing and brewing procedures. However, I think I can tell the difference, can't you?

Caffeine removal from coffee involves treating the beans with boiling water. Then they are rinsed with methylene chloride.

Were you aware that your beans had already had a quick bath before you bought them? In fact, this happens quite a few times before they reach stores. The beans are washed after picking to remove the outer husk, and then rewashed to remove any debris. Oh, not to forget the final bath in diluted hydrochloric acid, not the methylene chloride as we have been led to believe. Unfortunately the flavor we taste may not be the coffee so much as it is the chemicals that have infused into the beans. Don't you wonder if they know this as we always put fresh grounds into an airtight container to avoid being infused by other aromas?

Green coffee beans are unroasted. They are first washed in boiling water or steam, which make their pores open. Then they are washed again in methylene chloride which attaches itself to the caffeine molecules and gets washed away.

The other method is to soak the beans for a few hours in boiling water and the caffeine simply leaves the pores and rises to the surface of the water. The beans are then washed again the methylene chloride and lose the caffeine. The final wash is a quick soak where the pores close and reabsorb their flavor.

The Swiss process soaks the coffee beans in boiling water for a few hours. No chemicals are used. The caffeine is filtered out of the beans by using charcoal. This charcoal is not like the sticks you get at the art store. It has been specially altered moleculely to allow a larger area to stick onto.

The first procedure is the cheapest and thus the preferential one. However, debates have been raging for years as to whether it destroys the flavor. Quality control is used, but there are ways you and I can reduce our caffeine intake without all the fuss. Choose darker roasted beans which overall have much less caffeine. If you don't mind the chemicals, decaffeinated and regular blends will work, too.

What about the flavor? Well, the debate rages on, but at the end of the day it is up to you personally. Caffeine has a bitter taste, so it is easy to taste it in larger amounts. Is decaffeinated good or not? That again is up to you.