One of the common menus sold at cafes is "decaffeinated coffee." But how is this decaffeinated coffee made? Will caffeine be good for your body? When making decaffeinated coffee, it goes through a separation process. This is why decaffeinated coffee is more expensive. Methods for separating caffeine include a method using water, a method using a solvent, a method using carbon dioxide, etc. Among them, the most representative method using water is a technology that extracts caffeine by boiling coffee beans in water, and then separates the caffeine in the boiled water into activated carbon and dries water and coffee beans together.
Even decaffeinated drinks can contain caffeine. According to a notice by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2021, products that have removed more than 90% of caffeine content can be marked as "decaffeinated." Internationally, 97% of them are recognized as decaf only when removed, and 99% of them in the EU are named decaf only when they are removed. In addition, since the rate of caffeine removal varies from brand to brand, even decaffeinated coffee with a similar capacity may have different caffeine content. According to the brand's web page, the regular size (354mL) of Hollys Decaffeinated Americano has a caffeine content of 3mg, and the Starbucks Decaffeinated Ice Café Americano Tall Size (355mL) has a caffeine content of 10mg.
Decaffeinated coffee may be considered beneficial to health due to its low amount of caffeine, but caution should be taken as studies show that it increases the risk of certain diseases. First of all, there are reports of increased cholesterol levels. This is because the Robusta variety, which is mainly used in decaffeinated coffee, makes more fatty acids in the body. According to a study published in 2005 by the American Heart Association, people who consume too much decaffeinated coffee raise LDL cholesterol levels, a "bad cholesterol" that causes arteriosclerosis. Studies show that people who drink more than four cups of decaffeinated coffee a day have an increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis. In 2001, a research team at the University of Alabama at Birmingham said that people who drank decaffeinated coffee had a higher incidence of rheumatoid arthritis than regular coffee.
Writer: Michael Wu
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