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Decaffeinated, Real Coffee

Posted by timothy on from the bacon-free-bacon dept.

reeb writes "ABC News Australia reports that Brazilian scientists have discovered a naturally occurring but rare coffee plant, native to Ethiopia, that is 'almost free of caffeine.' Decaf without the genetic engineering?"

1 of 100 comments (clear)

  1. Decaf coffee is not genetically modified!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is important because the headline/blurb is misleading.

    Decaffeination is done through a process called 'supercritical fluid extraction' with carbon dioxide as a solvent. Turns out, with enough pressure and temperature, a substance can go 'supercritical', where it has the simultaneous properties of a gas, liquid, and solid. By fine tuning the temperature and pressure, it can act as a very selective solvent, only leeching out the caffeine and leaving in all the other delicious coffee flavors. The caffeine is then recovered and sold in pills or other products.

    Not that you should drink decaf. Caffeine is the primary reason to drink coffee.