Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Chemistry => Topic started by: guest6180 on 01/07/2008 18:15:58

Title: How are decaffeinated beverages, like coffee, produced?
Post by: guest6180 on 01/07/2008 18:15:58

We seem to take it for granted that coffee and tea come in their decaffeinated forms nowadays but...how do they get the caffeine out? [???]

Title: Re: How are decaffeinated beverages, like coffee, produced?
Post by: Bored chemist on 01/07/2008 19:19:52

Ther simple answer is they wash it out with a solvent of some sort. The interesting bit is how they stop this ruining the flavour. There's more detail here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decaffeinated_coffee

Title: Re: How are decaffeinated beverages, like coffee, produced?
Post by: turnipsock on 01/07/2008 20:51:55

Do they put all the removed caffine into Red Bull?

Title: How are decaffeinated beverages, like coffee, produced?
Post by: Bored chemist on 02/07/2008 18:53:31

"Do they put all the removed caffine into Red Bull?"

Sort of.
They aren't fussy about brands, but the caffeine that you buy as pills or in "energy" drinks was extracted from dcafeinated beverages or from "scrap" from the tea and coffee industry. It's not worth the trouble of synthesizing it because it's easier to grow it.