How Much Caffeine is in Decaffeinated Coffee?

Coffee is no doubt, one of the most popular and highly consumed beverages. People love coffee because of different reasons, such as they use it to boost their mental strength and energy due to its major ingredient- caffeine. However, some people don't prefer much of caffeine, but they still like coffee.

Therefore, people who prefer a lesser quantity of caffeine in their coffee use decaf or decaffeinated coffee. Although it is not as strong as the regular coffee, it still gives that typical taste to the coffee lovers. Some people belief decaf coffee is caffeine-free, but that is not true. Decaf coffee still has caffeine in it.

So, the question is how much caffeine is in decaf coffee? Well, it depends on which decaffeination method you use. But, before we move on to that, let’s have a basic idea of decaf coffee.

What is Decaf Coffee?

Decaf coffee is a form of coffee which contains almost negligible traces of caffeine. The caffeine is removed from the coffee beans before the brewing or grinding process. Different regulatory authorities define the quantity of caffeine in decaf coffee differently.

However, according to a general consensus, a decaf coffee (dry form) should not have more than 0.10 per cent caffeine. Similarly, brewed decaf coffee must have 97 per cent removed caffeine. There are three major methods for decaffeination.

Swiss Water Decaf Process

The coffee obtained from this process is 99.9 per cent caffeine-free. There are absolutely no chemicals used in this process as coffee beans are decaffeinated with water.

The CO2 "Sparkling Water" Decaffeination Process

Well, this process may sound a little “controversial” because the amount of caffeine is not certain in decaf coffee obtained through this process. The main component of this process is CO2 which is used for removing the caffeine from the coffee beans.

Methylene Chloride Decaffeination Process

The final product obtained from this process is 96 to 97 per cent caffeine-free. Coffee beans are decaffeinated with a solvent (methylene chloride) for removing caffeine.