So – how’s it Decaffeinated?
Water-soaked coffee beans are placed in an extraction vessel. The extractor is then sealed and liquid CO2 is forced into the coffee at pressures of 1,000 pounds per square inch to extract the caffeine. Supercritical CO2 acts selectively on the caffeine, releasing the alkaloid and nothing else.
The CO2 acts as the solvent to dissolve and draw the caffeine from the coffee beans, leaving the larger-molecule flavor components behind. The caffeine-laden CO2 is then transferred to another container where the pressure is released and the CO2 returns to its gaseous state and evaporates, leaving the caffeine behind.
The caffeine is removed from the CO2 using charcoal filters, and the caffeine free CO2 is pumped back into a pressurized container for reuse on another batch of beans.
Brilliant, with minimal impact on the character of the original Green Coffee, why stay awake all night worrying about it!
