3 Reasons Why Decaf Is Cool Again

There are two things we love here at Bermuda - Coffee and Comedy!

One of our favourite jokes has always managed to get a chuckle (or at least an eye-roll) from everyone and here it is for your enjoyment! 

“Wanna hear a joke?”

(Unsuspecting victim)  “Sure.”

“DECAF!” *cue roars of laughter. 

Poor old decaf; the Robin to coffees Batman. Like Jordan without Pippen. Sampson without his strength. Kylie Jenner without an Instagram. But over the last decade you might have noticed it more in cafes, on shelves and featured by artisan roasters around the world.So, why is Decaf making a comeback? Does it provide the same health benefits as coffee? And how can it possibly taste anywhere near as good as the 'real' stuff? Let’s discuss. 

Taste

Decaf Coffee has never been known for its beautiful flavour! Historically, there were a lot of harsh chemicals used in the process of removing the caffeine and due to this, decaf has always gotten a bad wrap. One of these chemicals, benzene, is even known to be a carcinogen now. So, you can understand why roasters wouldn’t traditionally waste high quality beans on a batch of decaf when the result was less than favourable. 

Decaf has come along way and there are now much safer and more effective ways of removing the caffeine from the beans. One of the more popular methods (which we use for our Ace Decaf Blend) is the Swiss Water Method of decaffeination.

The Swiss Mater Method involves soaking green coffee beans in water, which dissolves the caffeine. After soaking, the water from the first round of green beans is passed through a charcoal filter. Caffeine gets trapped in the filter because it is a large molecule, while the sugars, oils and other chemical elements that give coffee its aroma and flavours make it through and stay in the water to create what is called Green Coffee Extract.

This green coffee extract-infused water is added back to the original bean; and since the Green Coffee Extract already contains the other elements of flavour, those substances won’t dissolve from the beans and just the caffeine is removed. It sounds complicated, but the result is a delicious, caffeine and chemical-free cup of coffee!

Health Benefits

Coffee is a great source of antioxidants and provides an easy way for us to consume them without changing our daily routine. Antioxidants are very effective at neutralising reactive compounds called free radicals, which makes them so important for us to consume, as they can help to prevent diseases like cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Depending on the processing method, decaf coffee retains about 70-90% of the antioxidants found in a regular coffee bean. One cup of brewed decaf coffee provides about 2.5% of the recommended daily intake of magnesium, 5% of potassium and 2.5% of niacin (or vitamin B3). These amounts don't seem like much, but if you’re drinking a few cups per day, then it certainly adds up!

Decaf on the Rise

Due to higher education standards and the rise of a more health conscious society, decaf coffee is definitely gaining in popularity. We aren’t downing 12 cups of caffeinated coffee per day like our grandfathers used to - or at least we probably shouldn't be, as we know that too much caffeine is not great for the body. But, our biased opinion is that you can never have enough coffee, so people have been turning to decaf to get their flavour fix without the lasting effects of the caffeine. For many years, people who have had bad reactions to caffeine were stuck drinking herbal tea or other hot drink alternatives because the decaf option wasn't an enjoyable drink for most! But new decaffeination methods, curated blends and roast techniques have given rise to some decaf coffees that taste far superior to some fresh beans you used to buy off the shelf. Decaf has finally become cool! 

So for your next coffee fix or to try something different, why not give our Ace Decaf blend a go! It’s Swiss Water Processed, 99% caffeine free and 100% Ace! 

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