The act of brewing coffee, or even buying a cup, has been described as habitual. And these habits often lead to loyalty. This is how a coffee drinker can become territorial. From there, it’s not hard to see how they may view someone who prefers decaf coffee as being disloyal. They are, the territorial coffee drinker might argue, debasing the almighty coffee bean, a felony that ought to carry a lengthy prison sentence.
Of course, if the territorial coffee drinker would climb down from their high horse (is it funnier envisioning a low horse?), they would see that they and the decaf coffee drinker are actually quite similar, minus the jitteriness. That all this inferiority talk through the years was something that could have been quickly rectified had Big Decaf ever thought to hire a good publicist.
Decaf is not exactly caffeine-free
The publicist’s first move would likely have been to highlight the fact that decaf coffee is made from regular coffee beans, not some special, lesser breed of bean. Most, but not all, of the caffeine is extracted through one of a few different methods, the most popular—and safest, because it’s chemical-free—of which is called the Swiss Water Process. (Other methods use chemical solvents, which are FDA-approved and safe.)
It’s estimated that all but 0.1 percent of the caffeine is removed from a bean during the Swiss Water Process. On average, when you take the other methods into account, about 97 percent of the caffeine is removed during extraction. That means a cup of decaf will contain two to 15 mg of caffeine per cup compared to 95 mg in a regular cup.
Beyond that critical difference, however, a coffee snob would have a difficult time choosing correctly between caffeinated and decaffeinated cups of coffee. Assuming they’ve been roasted in a similar fashion, their aroma and full-bodied flavor would be nearly identical.
In case you were wondering
While about 10 percent of Americans drink decaf on a daily basis, a 2003 study reported that 27 percent drink both regular coffee and decaf. And these numbers appear to be rising. In a 2024 report, 46 percent of those surveyed expressed an interest in reducing their caffeine intake, Gen Z and Millennial coffee drinkers especially. And one global forecast projects that the decaf market will grow from $3.15 billion in 2026 to more than $5 billion by 2032.
If you’re new to this space, here’s some other important stuff you should know:
- Yes, you can stick with your preferred brewing method. A bean’s caffeine content has no impact on the brewing process. Same goes for grinding; grind your decafs beans at the same settings you’d typically use.
- Decaf coffee is not inherently better for you than regular coffee, but it’s still packed with all the antioxidants that help make regular coffee so, so good for you. And the significant reduction in caffeine may improve sleep quality and reduce anxiety.
Now go indulge your coffee curiosity—and hold your head up high.