decaffeinated coffee

beverage

Also known as: decaf coffee

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 15, 2026

Quick Summary

Decaffeinated coffee, often called "decaf," is a beverage made from coffee beans that have had most of their caffeine removed. This process occurs before the beans are roasted.123

Several methods are used for decaffeination:
* Solvent-based: This involves using chemical solvents like ethyl acetate or methylene chloride to rinse the beans or treat the water they were soaked in.12
* Swiss Water Process: This method uses only water and carbon filtration to remove caffeine without chemicals.12
* Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Method: This technique uses carbon dioxide under high pressure to extract caffeine, preserving more flavor.12
* Triglyceride Process: This method uses coffee oils to remove caffeine from the beans.2

While decaffeination aims to remove caffeine, it's important to note that no coffee is 100% caffeine-free. In the United States, coffee must have at least 97% of its caffeine removed to be labeled "decaffeinated". Decaffeination can sometimes affect the coffee's flavor, though newer methods aim to minimize this.21

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

4 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

coffee roasting
If the beans are chemically decaffeinated, roasting also removes all but trace amounts of the solvent residues. Roasting results in a loss of weight between 14 and 23 percent, and the internal pressure of gas expands the coffee beans by 30–100 percent. The beans become a deep rich brown, and…
Read More
If the beans are chemically decaffeinated, roasting also removes all but trace amounts of the solvent residues. Roasting results in a loss of weight between 14 and 23 percent, and the internal pressure of gas expands the coffee beans by 30–100 percent. The beans become a deep rich brown, and…
Read More

How Is Coffee Decaffeinated?
…the numerous flavor chemicals, and decaffeinated beans are notoriously difficult to roast properly.
Read More
…the numerous flavor chemicals, and decaffeinated beans are notoriously difficult to roast properly.
Read More

coffee
Decaffeination
…all cases, to make “decaf,” the caffeine is removed in the green bean stage, before the coffee is roasted. Regardless of the method of decaffeination, some adulteration of the coffee bean results along the way, and in no case is 100 percent of the caffeine removed. Extracting a good…
Read More
…all cases, to make “decaf,” the caffeine is removed in the green bean stage, before the coffee is roasted. Regardless of the method of decaffeination, some adulteration of the coffee bean results along the way, and in no case is 100 percent of the caffeine removed. Extracting a good…
Read More