Turns out, it's not just coffee snobbery that causes the discrimination against decaf coffee - it's chemistry! Coffee is made up of thousands of chemicals that make up its taste, aroma, color, and caffeine content.
Decaf coffee is just regular coffee beans with 97% of their caffeine removed. The beans are washed in a solvent (usually water, organic solvents, or carbon dioxide) until the caffeine has been extracted. This process takes place before the beans are roasted and ground.
Changing the chemical makeup of the beans like this is what causes decaf coffee to taste different to the original caffeinated version.
Here's some reasons why you should give decaf a chance:
- It has almost the same amount of antioxidants as regular coffee
- It's less bitter than regular coffee
- It causes significantly less acid reflux than regular coffee
- It may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
- It may protect against age-related mental decline
So whether you're cutting out, or just cutting back, on your caffeine intake, give decaf coffee a second chance before you reach right for the herbal tea.