The SWISS WATER® Process is a 100% chemical free coffee decaffeination process that results in great-tasting decaf. Most other processes use chemical solvents, like methylene chloride, to decaffeinate coffee beans. Conversely, the SWISS WATER® Process uses only water when removing caffeine, producing water processed decaf coffee.

Shop for SWP Decaf coffees:
  World Coffees
  Flavored Coffees
  Signature Blends

The process goes like this:
First, the beans are cleaned and soaked water, partially saturated with coffee flavor solids, in preparation for caffeine extraction.

Next, the beans are immersed in the flavor-charged water. Initially the water is caffeine-free, and as a result the caffeine diffuses from the beans into the water. Since the concentration of flavor components in the bean and in the water are equal, only the caffeine is removed, leaving the flavor intact. The water then passes through a carbon filter that traps the caffeine. The now caffeine-free, flavor-charged water flows back to the beans to remove more caffeine. This process continues for approximately 8 hours, until the beans are 99.9% caffeine-free.

Following decaffeination, the trapped caffeine is removed from the carbon filter. The flavor-charged water is then recycled to the start of the process for the next batch of beans.

Reference: SwissWater.com

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