A common method for decaffeinating green coffee beans on a mass scale involves preparing the beans and then using a solvent to extract the caffeine.
One of the most widely used approaches follows these steps:
- Bean Preparation: The green coffee beans are first prepared by either soaking them in water or steaming them. This step makes the caffeine more accessible for extraction.
- Solvent Application: After preparation, a solvent solution is added to the beans. This solvent is specifically chosen because it can effectively draw the caffeine out of the beans.
- Caffeine Extraction: The solvent interacts with the beans, pulling the caffeine from within them into the solvent solution.
- Solvent Removal/Separation: The caffeine-laden solvent is then separated from the decaffeinated beans.
Historically, the solvent traditionally used in this process was methylene chloride.
This method allows for the removal of caffeine from large quantities of green coffee beans before they are roasted.
