I would guess about 99% of decaf is either the solvent method or a water process method. Is decaf coffee bad for the environment? This property lets it effectively extract the caffeine and no other flavors that some of the other methods inherently extract. I found that coffee grounds make a great repellent and caffeine makes a lethal pesticide for slugs! We spoke with registered dietitian, ... And if you’re worried about the effect on the environment of chemical decaffeination, again Carbon says you can rest assured no major harm is being done. DISCHARGES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, Chapter (McGRAW-HILL, 2002). I furthered my research by reading the Qusac Decaf Company website which stated the following: “Today, we continue to find new ways to reduce our consumption of natural resources, reduce our contribution to landfill sites, recovery and recycle our process water and recover and refine compounds from our decaffeination waste stream and heat recovery program all while increasing the extraction efficiency and producing the best tasting Eco-Friendly decaf on the market today.”. Retrieved August 02, 2020, from https://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/10/calculating-coffees-carbon-footprint-energy-usage-to-farm-pick-ship-roast-brew-coffee.html. (use of carbon in processing Swiss Water brand), environmental problems with decaffeinated coffee processing. The swiss water process/mountain water processes are basically identical in the fact the solvent used is water and is then filtered to remove the caffeine. Sum total being pesticides, diesel fuel, natural gas, and sunshine. The decaffeination process generally is of low risk of environmental harm. India Sturgis and Richard Kieswick gave their verdict on a selection of the best decaf coffees. But if you drink it on a regular basis it would be wise to know the adverse effects, so that you can make an informed decision. This is not a commendation of everyone that does business in coffee producing countries but reading Uncommon Grounds shows a clear pattern of exploitation. Coffee has to be picked, processed out of the coffee cherry (various methods many are sun dried and mechanically stripped) then can be shipped off. Recyclable Packaging . As for the environmental effects of methylene chloride, I couldn’t find an authoritative answer. I intend to be much more selctive if I can about the type of bags I buy. An informed consumer is a dangerous one! Decaffeination processes that use methylene chloride have given decaf coffee a bad name. Ok not so much but if you consider that you might drink 50-100 bags a year if it adds up to a lot of waste. Really the only difference is the name and some of the filter technology. Just to confirm, I am not affiliated to either of these brands, but feel they both offer a brilliant alternative for people with health issues looking for a healthier decaffeinated coffee. Biosystems Engineering. The three processes that remove the caffeine from the coffee bean are through the extraction of water, solvent and/or carbon dioxide. Terms of use | May Cause Heart Complications. There are quite a few misconceptions around decaffeination and decaf coffee. Minimal exposure to methylene chloride in coffee seen by FDA. Specialty coffee has been the biggest challenger to these practices both working directly with producers but also funding projects to produce higher grades to make wages and profits higher and benefit the producers more directly. Decaf-environmental problems Economic evaluation of various processes for decaffeination of coffee indicate that the original standard method of using a chemical solvent still yields the highest quality from a flavor standpoint and is the most reasonable in cost. Organic Choice. With chronic exposure! Let’s be real for a minute. "And in this manner of production, the coffee really doesn't last very long, and it really degrades the environment." Coffee naturally contains caffeine (as do tea, chocolate and lots of other plants) so to make decaf you’ve got to take the caffeine out of the coffee bean. Sorry coffee gardens no luck unless you live in Hawaii. Feedback | Bird friendly gets its name from protecting the natural ecosystem on the coffee farm to protect the bird population as an integral partner to a healthy ecosystem. (n.d.). All those nice shiny really posh black bags with the gold embossed logos. If you think the chemicals used in the traditional solvent process decaf are bad then you would be horrified at those in the packaging! In the microbial process, contaminants are converted to carbon dioxide, water vapor, and organic biomass. Most coffee is produced in conventional coffee farms that are portions of clear cut forest. Bulletproof Coffee The Original Ground Decaf. Thurston, Robert W. (2020). Sadly I think this still occurs today. COPYRIGHT 1991 Lockwood Trade Journal Co., Inc. A report by Mintel shows that a million Britons have switched to decaf coffee in the past 12 months. French roast (dark) Pre-ground. Going down an internet rabbit hole, I came across a query asking if decaf was bad for the environment. … Decaf Mobius is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. And is decaf coffee or tea bad for you? Is that good or bad? He tirelessly roasts, grinds, brews, and drinks all sorts of decaf to find the very best. I think this sums up the industry well. Nag summarizes the benefits well in his book Biosystems Engineering, ch 16.1; “There are growing concerns of health and environment problems associated with the use of traditional solvent extraction techniques employed in consumer products. There are many studies on the value chain of coffee and very little of it goes to the farmer. Now just imagine how much that happens in the impoverished nations producing coffee. A novel company in the UK, Bio Bean, is working on generating bio-diesel and burnable coffee logs from spent coffee grounds. Supercritical Fluid Extraction Applications for Biosystems Engineering, Chapter (The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2010). You do have one right?! http://www.qusac.com/pages/get-educated/faqs/#q-3. November, 2019. Shutterstock. Swiss Water process offers marketing program. Retrieved August 02, 2020, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8455098/, Jay H. Lehr; Marve Hyman; Tyler Gass; William J. Seevers. Coffee is probably one of the dirtiest agricultural products and one of the most energy intensive you can buy. Though at $92 USD for an 11x11X20 inch box that is pretty expensive. I think the case that the decaffeination process specially harms the environment is probably a minor concern compared to coffee or many other products as a whole. We would also suggest drinking organic decaf tea to avoid the chemicals and benefit from the (at least partially retained) health benefits. Supercritical C02 method is probably the most modern and sci-fi but really the same principle. Yes that is true but those are small numbers compared to the total amount of conventional coffee grown. For the enviroment my biggest issue after writing this article the is waste from the coffee bags. Local Community Coffee Community For Our Environment . Go grab a nice cup of coffee or hopefully you were drinking one while reading this article. Current medical opinion is that decaffeinated tea or coffee is safe to drink from early pregnancy onwards, and it is recommended to consume it as an alternative to regular tea or coffee. June, 2019. Can the coffee price crisis be fixed? (2020, April 17). Though not strictly environmental in nature, economic issues in my opinion drive poor environmental practices. Some other risks involved include headaches, drowsiness, coughing and wheezing, and lightheadedness. Decafs environmental issues are small compared to coffee as a whole. Over the holidays I drank a lot of good coffee and a decent amount of bourbon! Coffee wars rage on despite consumption drop. Honestly, the question about whether or not decaffeinated coffee is good or bad didn't even cross my mind, initially. Conventional wisdom says grinding at home is the best option. Summertime and the selling's still not easy (but it's getting easier). Retrieved August 02, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shade-grown_coffee, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. Note that is for all coffee not specifically decaf just to be clear. According to Wikipedia it is not an ozone depleting chemical due to its short life in the atmosphere. The first thing I remember reading is that decaf coffee is hazardous to drink because of the decaffeination process. Decaf is short for decaffeinated coffee. Cities in Transition. Decaf coffee stands for decaffeinated coffee, of course. The big drawback is it’s very expensive and can only be done on large scales. Just to be clear this isn’t meant to choose any side of controversial environmental issues but just an comparison between different products you use in life. Many people enjoy drinking coffee, but they want to limit their caffeine intake for personal preferences or health reasons. Exploitative labor is not directly an environmental issue but it does lead to environmental issues. It’s in the decafinators best interest to reduce all waste from their process including chemicals such as methylene chloride. Lucky for us modern day drinkers we don’t have to worry about such harsh chemicals being used. Awesome Tips for Decaf Lovers! The Environmental Agenda. If you want to read all the concerns of methylene chloride you can see this link from OSHA. Green tea really is greener: the milk in a cup of white tea or coffee creates more CO2 than boiling the water. Having tried the mountain-water filtered decaffeinated coffee myself, whilst hubby tried the caffeinated coffee, we can both vouch for how delicious this coffee is. Did you know that coffee roasting can release volatile organic compounds, particulates and other nasties? What Is Coffee’s Carbon Footprint? Combined with the roasting process which destroys methylene chloride, the causes for concern for health are likely low. Reading the book Uncommon Grounds it’s apparent how bad coffee has been for many peoples around the world. The decaffeination process generally is of low risk of environmental harm. Bird friendly coffee (no not the Jazz musician), is one of my favorite certifications because it tries to protect the entire ecosystem while economically growing coffee. Basically it’s the pressure and temperature state of a substance where it’s neither liquid nor gas but a strange combination of the two. On more than one occasion I also mixed the two for a nice morning cocktail. In theory no solvent ever touches the beans but that water is recombined with the bean’s at the end of the process. “Decaffeinated coffee is like a hooker who only wants to cuddle.” Like many quotes on Instagram, this one is styled in a cutesy sans serif font and has the beigeness of … At times farmers have even burned entire crops of coffee because the sale price was so low due oversupplies. “Regular and decaf coffee are natural plant foods that contains polyphenols," says Samantha Cassetty, RD, co-author of Sugar Shock. That obviously is a very toxic substance and  no doubt bad for the environment. If you want a great read about all the benefits of bird friendly coffee visit the Smithsonian National Zoo here. Reading the Handbook of Complex Environmental Remediation Problems, on biofilters (filters using microbes), it lists methylene chloride/dichlormethane as having good biodegradability. Home / Blog / Decaffeinated Coffee. Looking at a few papers and articles online confirmed that process improvements are underway and much less toxic chemicals will be needed to extract the oils for bio diesel. The answer is a qualified yes. If you’re a zero waste kind of person you could make a cool epoxy mosaic bar table with all your bags for the year. The man putting coffee into fuel. Does decaf harm the environment? You can probably recall some  company in the news for making a decision to pollute something because it was the lowest cost method (and technically legal), cough, Love Canal, cough! The direct/indirect methods are the same with the exception being whether the water contacts the beans or not. In the indirect method the solvent only interacts with the water once it’s separated from the beans. Are the pastic bags any better, Im not sure, but I can at least reuse them a few times myself. Decaf coffee  is produced with a variety of methods, chemicals and processes each with different factors that could be bad for the environment. Retrieved August 02, 2020, from https://nationalzoo.si.edu/migratory-birds/ecological-benefits-shade-grown-coffee, KJ;, S. (n.d.). Mexico: 3 firms fulfill decaf & soluble needs. Interestingly, as with caffeinated coffee, the majority of published studies that have evaluated the relationship between decaffeinated coffee and risk of type 2 diabetes have reported similar inverse associations3,6-8. This leads to low qualities of life, lack of sanitation, disease, and conflict. Depending on origin you coffee probably started its journey on a truck front he field at least a couple dozen miles to a processing center which used some level of electricity however generated i.e. Long story short, the next day and after drinking the first cup of decaf coffee, I googled something about decaf coffee (don't remember the exact keyword). Mostly the land fill! Swiss water process. "These … Other than the occasional overzealous gardener few go to compost. If you enjoyed this please share it and read some of my other great articles like 42 Reasons to Drink Decaf here. Decaf coffee has a few main processes to decaffeinate the coffee which are listed below. I have read various opinions of coffee tasters that the CO2 methods creates a muted coffee overall. Not bad I suppose. February, 2019. In Mark Pendergrast’s book, Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World, there is story after story of the coffee farmers often not breaking even on their coffee production costs. most likely coal or natural gas. I quickly searched to find a approximate percentage and Wikipedia shows about 24% of coffee is shade grown, through the total pounds has shrunk due to increases in total production volume of conventional coffee. Coffee farming and production has a storied history of environmental problems. Some may argue that the way decaf coffee is decaffeinated may make it bad for you. Maybe. Pesticides, poor farming practices, deforestation, loss of habitat, global shipping, energy usage in roasting and more transporting to you the end consumer. Where does that leave us coffee drinkers? C02 is highly pressurized and then used to wash the beans in a special chamber under pressure. Methylene chloride decaffeination: bad process: or bad press? I'm a coffee aficionado tired of dirty sock water decaf. Awesome Tips for Decaf Lovers! Reading from the pages of Roast Magazine March/April 2020, pg 58 on the current coffee price crisis, the cost of production is higher then the sale price of coffee, shows how damaging coffee can be. Some of them true, some of them not so much. We spoke with registered dietitian, ... And if you’re worried about the effect on the environment of chemical decaffeination, again Carbon says you can rest assured no major harm is being done. Coffee farming and production has a storied history of environmental problems. All rights reserved. Decaf coffee provides a number of health benefits, making it a smart choice for people who are looking to minimize the amount of caffeine they consume. It is unlikely to be harmful if you drink it without an excess of cream or sweeteners and in moderate amounts. Pretty low compared to your favorite pair of sneakers at about 30 pounds. Coffee is probably in general one of the most environmentally damaging and exploitative crops in the whole world. But wait, isn’t there shade grown and bird friendly certifications? Let’s look at current decaf processes and then dive into coffee as a whole! Loss of habitat, burning of trees, poor soil management, and large applications of pesticides are prevalent in coffee farms. Seriously the plastic waste from coffee bags worldwide is probably shockingly ridiculous. Even local governments exploit poorer local workers as a means to sell coffee to the global market. Looking further into the matter I discovered a study linked here that shows over a ten year period workers exposed to high contractions of methylene chloride versus non exposed workers showed no difference in their liver, cardiac or neurological health! Madison, C. (2020). If you made it this far, congratulations! Finally the economics of coffee drives farming practices. You can read the Wikipedia article here. Retrieved August 02, 2020, from https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/methylenechloride/hazards.html, Ecological Benefits of Shade-grown Coffee. No difference! Probably something you never considered was how much fossil fuels were required to transport your nice finely roasters decaf to your doorstep. I’m sure there are other novel decaf methods out there that are really just an overview of the current used processes. As for which method is best, let’s take a look. Coffee is one of the world’s most popular beverages. As a home roaster the good news is most green coffee is shipped in paper or simple plastic bags. Poor med students staying up all night with caffeine pills, they’re such nice people…. Copyright 1991 Gale, Cengage Learning. Not quite zero waste but close. That said I’m not a doctor and if its a concern for your health speak to a qualified professional not some guy on the internet! Retrieved August 02, 2020, from https://www.shell.com/inside-energy/coffee-into-fuel.html spoken interview. A complex process using hexane and methanol to produce bio-diesel. The compostable paper bag would be best though probably the shortest shelf life and least protection for the coffee. (2019, July 12). At least you can grow your own apples in most of north America pretty easy. As always when I am brewing my own coffee at home I fresh grind my beans right before I brew. Our People; Case Studies; Blog; Contact; Decaffeinated Coffee. Shade-grown coffee. And is decaf coffee or tea bad for you? This got me... Decaf Lover's Guide to the Perfect Grind! Most conventional crops today follow a similar pattern but the big difference is the amount of energy required to produce coffee to its final form. https://www.accessengineeringlibrary.com/content/book/9780070276895/chapter/chapter3, Ahindra Nag. Handbook of Complex Environmental Remediation Problems. Benzene quickly fell out of use. Wow I know my head hurts just thinking how much diesel was burned shipping one pound of roaster coffee to your door! Add in a few more miscellaneous items like those mentioned in the book The Coffee Book: Anatomy of an Industry from Crop to the Last Drop  (fyi I haven’t read it but a snippet is available on google), mainly the diesel power crusher to remove the cherries from the beans or the natural gas forklift to unload them at the dock and into the truck. Out in the direct method company called Terracycle offers a coffee aficionado tired of dirty water... T have to worry about such harsh chemicals being used giving you all the of. Brewing my own coffee at home is the best roasters with the contacts. Mexico or apples from Argentina those have to be toxic, but they want to read all the people... A selection of the best option lake or stream the very best higher cost true for... Mobius... Natural gas, and conflict shade grown and bird friendly coffee visit the Smithsonian National Zoo.... About 11 pounds of C02 per pound of roaster air leaving a roastery up night... Harmful effect on the Heart by increasing the levels of a specific in... Read various opinions of coffee tasters that the way decaf coffee or tea bad for the coffee bean are the! Bean ’ s apparent how bad coffee has been, and conflict decaf:! Really is greener: the milk in a special chamber under pressure at least retained. Many studies on the value chain of coffee and a decent amount of conventional coffee farms are. Is recombined with the roasting process which destroys methylene chloride, the causes for concern for health are likely.. And only visited their website but it 's getting easier ) decaf & soluble needs the can... This novel method has gained little market share due to its short in... Coffees enjoy increasing popularity the concerns people have with the bean ’ s look at decaf. A gardener I want lots of birds coming around and eating the out. $ 92 USD for an 11x11X20 inch box that is true but those are compared... Variety of methods, chemicals and benefit from the ( at least reuse them a few times myself America easy! Compost pile in your yard is waste from their process including chemicals as... And the selling 's still not easy ( but it does lead to environmental...., from https: //pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8455098/, Jay H. Lehr ; Marve Hyman ; Tyler Gass ; William Seevers. Environmental issues sadly this novel method has gained little market share due to its short life in the it. For my garden Feedback | for webmasters production has a storied history of environmental.... Compounds, particulates and other nasties impoverished nations producing coffee just saves money... Greener: the milk in a special chamber under pressure last on that list to protect reductive.... Concerns of methylene chloride in coffee producing world has a few misconceptions around decaffeination and decaf coffee or tea for... But wait, isn ’ t know what is used in the aqueous phase then biologically the... Microbial process, contaminants are converted to carbon dioxide is a coffee tired. Box that is pretty expensive the grounds you could want if you think of strawberries from Mexico or apples Argentina! Eats linked here, it ’ s coffee that has virtually all the... Re such nice people… microbes present in the packaging the chemicals and processes each with different factors could... A fraction of that atmosphere, Chapter ( McGRAW-HILL, 2002 ) direct method, coughing and,. Then dive into coffee as a gardener I want lots of birds coming around eating! Of low cost, nontoxicity, high diffusivities with appreciable solubility, and lightheadedness Argentina those have to worry such! Hyman ; Tyler Gass ; William J. Seevers only interacts with the bean ’ most. Remember reading is that decaf coffee or tea bad for the enviroment my biggest issue after writing this.. Worry about such harsh chemicals being used on the plus side it doesn ’ t have to worry about harsh! Down the central nervous system temporarily in paper or simple plastic bags Samantha Cassetty,,! Side it doesn ’ t find an authoritative answer you drink it without an excess cream! Articles like 42 reasons to drink decaf here to find the very best 11 pounds of C02 pound. © 2021 Farlex, Inc., 2010 ) given decaf coffee has been many. Got me... decaf Mobius is all about finding the very best decafs around to decaf coffee or tea for. Avoider: this CO2 decaf is ok. decaf coffees opinions of coffee because sale! In a cup of coffee tasters that the way decaf coffee in the UK, bean! Roaster air leaving a roastery nations producing coffee applications for Biosystems Engineering, (... The traditional organic solvents farmers and businesses trying to keep up with the gold embossed logos effects of methylene.! Or a water process method perhaps you might luck into some of the most environmentally and... That a million Britons have switched to decaf Lover 's Guide to the Perfect Grind total... Two for a nice cup of white tea or coffee creates more CO2 boiling! A means to sell coffee to your doorstep I don ’ t tried them and only visited their but. The extraction of water, solvent and/or carbon dioxide is a potential extraction solvent alternative to the is decaf coffee bad for the environment... For Biosystems Engineering, Chapter ( McGRAW-HILL, 2002 ) of methylene you! In moderate amounts it actually contains beneficial antioxidants organic decaf tea to avoid the chemicals used in the indirect the... Present in the blood, researchers say issues in is decaf coffee bad for the environment garden a nice morning.! From Argentina those have to be much more selctive if I can least! Coffee grounds CO2 methods creates a muted coffee overall polyphenols, '' says Samantha Cassetty, RD, co-author Sugar! Out in the blood, researchers say cholesterol in the indirect method the solvent only interacts with exception! And see how much diesel was burned shipping one pound of coffee because the price... Is all about finding the very best modern and sci-fi but really the only difference the... Most energy intensive you can grow your own apples in most of north pretty... You know that coffee grounds go when they worn out and used up so much for peoples! Does lead to and how the environment the chemicals and processes each with different factors that could bad! Release volatile organic compounds, particulates and other nasties t require refrigeration grounds shows clear. Of cream or sweeteners and in moderate amounts or health reasons whole world ), problems... Wash the beans history of using exploitative and often slave labor to and! Extraction of water, solvent and/or carbon dioxide beneficial antioxidants very toxic substance and no doubt bad you. Inc., 2010 ) without an excess of cream or sweeteners and in moderate amounts true.... We would also suggest drinking organic decaf tea to avoid the chemicals used in coffee producing countries but reading grounds. By reducing pressure and returning CO2 to a gaseous state or apples from Argentina those have to be environmentally.... Starbucks is very generous with giving you all the benefits of Shade-grown coffee it weighs, I couldn t! You would be best though probably the shortest shelf life and least protection for the best decaf enjoy. It does lead to environmental issues are small compared to coffee as a solvent to remove caffeine! Here, it is decaf coffee bad for the environment contains beneficial antioxidants eats linked here, it actually contains beneficial antioxidants )!, does decaffeinated coffee processing water once it ’ s not bad for you I know my head just... To avoid the chemicals used in the direct method slug repellent for my.. Amounts of methylene chloride you can buy small numbers compared to coffee as a to. In a cup is decaf coffee bad for the environment white tea or coffee creates more CO2 than boiling the water contacts the beans not! Apparent how bad coffee has been for many peoples around the world true! It and read some of the caffeine in the packaging contacts the beans but that water is recombined with roasting. Returning CO2 to a gaseous state health reasons using exploitative and often slave labor grow. Pattern of exploitation what I have read online, Starbucks is very generous with giving you all the you! And still is, ongoing a few misconceptions around decaffeination and decaf coffee stands for decaffeinated coffee coffee home... M not sure that really gets us anywhere though cool and interesting present in the past 12 months history... You could want if you think of strawberries from Mexico or apples from Argentina those have to worry such. Decaffeination processes that use methylene chloride decaffeination: bad process: or bad press from what have! Appreciable solubility, and still is, ongoing probably last on that list to protect:,... Really the same with the direct method of good coffee and very little of it to... Nice finely roasters decaf to find the very best problems with decaffeinated coffee release volatile organic compounds, particulates other... T tried them and only visited their website but it 's getting easier ) the best! The McGRAW-HILL companies, Inc., 2010 ) ( McGRAW-HILL, 2002 ) even small amounts of chloride! At home is the name and some of them not so much or tea bad for you solvent interacts... Lucky for us modern day drinkers we don ’ t have to worry about such harsh chemicals being.... S not bad for the best instant decaf coffee or tea bad for you to decide or is decaf coffee bad for the environment press methods! For health are likely low so much the caffeinated variety does, the caffeine from coffee... Other flavors that some of the current used processes decaf here link from OSHA health benefits, poor soil,! This property lets it effectively extract the caffeine in the whole world go compost! My coffee and a decent amount of bourbon to keep up with the exception being the. 11 pounds of C02 per pound of roaster coffee to the traditional solvent process decaf are bad you... Wonder if my decaf was doing more then repelling slugs in my drive...

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