Here's How Starbucks Decaf Coffee Is Made

While most people don't walk into Starbucks just to get a cup of decaf iced coffee, it's on the menu for folks who are watching their caffeine intake. From its popular decaf Pike Place Roast to its rich decaf Caffè Verona (which you can buy ground), if you're in the mood for coffee but don't want the buzz, you can get one anytime (although some coffees don't come in decaf; you can't get a decaf cold brew for example). But have you ever wondered how they actually took the caffeine out of the coffee? The process is fascinating.

There are three primary methods used in the industry to decaffeinate coffee today: The Direct Contact Method, the Swiss Water Process, and the Natural Decaffeination Process. Yet, while it details all three methods online, Starbucks doesn't mention specifically which process it uses for its decaf. However, Monica Reinagel, a licensed nutritionist, quizzed the company, who admitted that it relies primarily on the Direct Contact Method for the majority of its decaf offerings. There are two exceptions, however: The decaf Komodo Dragon Blend and the VIA Instant Decaf Italian Roast, which is an instant Starbucks coffee that you can purchase via Amazon. These two undergo the Swiss Water Process instead.

So what exactly are the Direct Contact Method and Swiss Water Process? Let's take a closer look.

The Direct Contact Method is one of the most popular decaf techniques today. The process starts with freshly picked green, unroasted coffee beans. The beans are steamed to soften them and open up their pores. Then they're washed with a chemical called methylene chloride. The neat thing about this chemical is that it selectively binds to caffeine and draws it out of the beans while leaving the flavor compounds in the coffee intact. Methylene chloride could help pull out as much as 97% of the caffeine in a batch (decaf typically still contains a bit of caffeine).

After the decaffeinating bath, the coffee beans are washed, blasted with 400-degree Fahrenheit steam again, and then roasted. By the time your coffee reaches your cup, all those processing chemicals have completely vanished in the roasting process. Starbucks is really serious about this point, underscoring in their email that there's absolutely zero methylene chloride left in your drink (and there better be zero, because it is toxic).

In contrast, the Swiss Water Process that's used to make the two special Starbucks blends takes a chemical-free approach to decaffeination. First, the green coffee beans are soaked in hot water to create what Starbucks calls "flavor-charged water" which is then passed through a charcoal filter, which can remove as much as 99.9% of the caffeine. The now-caffeine-free beans are then resoaked in this flavorful water for it to reabsorb the taste compounds. When you brew it, you get a cup with all the flavor but it's as buzz-free as coffee can possibly get.