Altering the state of the natural always comes with consequences.  From taking the fat out of milk to removing the caffeine from a coffee bean, the process behind altering the natural state (and sometimes the chemicals used to accomplish it) might surprise you!

I’m a serious coffee drinker.  I don’t drink gallons of coffee a day, but the few cups that I drink each day are one of my life’s greatest pleasures. A hot cup of coffee doesn’t just satisfy my taste buds, it conjures up a whole lot of memories of times spent with loved ones over a good cup of coffee.  It’s my “comfort food.”

I don’t load my coffee up with artificial flavors and I don’t buy coffee concoctions that I can’t even pronounce.  I LOVE the natural bold flavor of black coffee. I don’t want a fancy drip coffee maker or a “single serving” multi (artificial) flavored coffee option.  I don’t grind my coffee beans and I don’t use a french press.  I prefer an old-fashioned percolator.  The coffee is unbelievable and the sound and smells coming from the percolator make the coffee taste even better!

You wouldn’t catch me with a cup of decaf for all of the money in the world. If coffee works against me one day, and it causes me to lose sleep…I’ll lose the coffee before I’d switch to decaf.   Not only does it seem pointless to drink coffee with no “kick”, but if you’re a black coffee connoisseur like I am, you know how bad black decaf tastes! If  not for the fact that I HATE the taste of decaf, I may have listened to my “health nut” friends who have preached the dangers of regular/caffeinated coffee to me for years!  Boy, do they have a lot to learn about decaf!

Have you ever wondered how they take caffeine out of a coffee bean?  It certainly isn’t grown that way.  The label doesn’t say NON-caffeinated…it says DE-caffeinated. So how does it lose its caffeine?   A Methylene Chloride wash is the most common way used by the coffee industry to decaffeinate beans before they are actually roasted.  That even SOUNDS toxic.  The following description of Methylene Chloride was pulled directly from the OSHA site:   

Methylene Chloride

Methylene chloride, also called dichloromethane, is a volatile, colorless liquid with a chloroform-like odor. Methylene chloride is used in various industrial processes, in many different industries including paint stripping, pharmaceutical manufacturing, paint remover manufacturing, and metal cleaning and degreasing. The most common means of exposure to methylene chloride is inhalation and skin exposure. OSHA considers methylene chloride to be a potential occupational carcinogen.

So…coffee beans are washed in a chemical that is known to cause cancer just to remove the caffeine that some say is bad for your health? Does that make any sense to you?  If it does, I have some oceanfront property in Arizona that I’d like to talk to you about as soon as possible.

Do yourself a favor.  If you don’t want to partake of caffeine, the next time you are asked “Regular or Decaf” just pass on the coffee all together.  That’s the healthiest caffeine-free option when it comes to coffee.

Naturally, your coffee is only as good as the water it’s made with.  If you opt for tap water to make your coffee, you’re already signing up for hundreds of harmful chemicals (some know carcinogens) with the water alone.  Add in a little Methylene chloride and you’re good to go!

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