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Decaffeinated coffee is another example of wanting the best of both worlds. Sometimes you want to enjoy a cup of coffee but don't want the caffeinated kick. Maybe the caffeine keeps you up, maybe it just makes you all jittery. The only question I have when if comes to decaf is, how do they get the caffeine out without ruining the coffee? Is one way better than the other?

The first thing we need to understand is that caffeine is a naturally occurring component of the coffee bean. This means you won't be able to remove all the caffeine. Thanks to standards set aside by the government, coffee must have at least 97% of the caffeine removed before it can be called decaf. Caffeine is removed from the coffee beans before roasting by use of a decaffeinating method. This can be done using the direct process where the decaffeinating agent comes in direct contact with the coffee. Alternately, the indirect process is used where the decaffeinating agent does not come in direct contact with the bean.
In the direct process, unroasted coffee beans are steamed. Steaming the beans softens the beans and loosens the bonds holding the caffeine. A decaffeinating agent is mixed with the beans to leech out the caffeine. Once that's done, the beans are cleaned to remove the decaffeinating agent, dried and roasted for use. With the indirect method, the beans are steamed for the same reasons as above. In this method, the beans are now mixed with water to leech out the caffeine. The beans are removed and a decaffeinating agent is added to the water to remove the caffeine. The now decaffeinated water is reintroduced to the beans to give back any flavor that might have been lost. Finally, the beans are dried, roasted and ready for use.
No mater which method is used, caffeine still comes in contact with one of five decaffeinating agents: charcoal or carbon, water, ethyl acetate, carbon dioxide, or methyline chloride. Charcoal and carbon are used as part of the indirect process described above. The water used to remove the caffeine is passed through a carbon filter to remove the caffeine. The decaffeinated extract is then returned to the beans. Only in the Swiss Water Process is water used as the sole decaffeinating agent. In this method a water solution is saturated with the essential oils that give coffee its flavor. Because the solution is saturated, it can only remove the caffeine. The beans are left with their delicious coffee flavors intact.
As scary as ethyl acetate sounds, the

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