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A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee

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Re: A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure, there's a comment below my parent comment that indicates that there's wild caffeine free coffee. it just tastes bad apparently.

Thanks. I don't drink decaffeinated coffee not because I don't get any effects but because of its tase, which I reckon is horrible. Caffeine is bitter (well slightly so) and I reckon removing it makes it unpalatable for me, it's likely why caffeine-free tastes bad. (I'd add I drink both coffee and tea without milk or sugar, that'd make the taste of the caffeine more noticeable I'd reckon). Incidentally, I was unaware…

It can have a bit of a taste yeah, but I found mine and I'm sticking with it. Have both with and sans and they are quite good (if anyone's from Germany and wanna try: Brazil mild decaf from Tchibo, actually really good)

Re: A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same with yogurt. Whey protein isolate goes for $11/lb, which is ridiculous pricing as a side note.

Yoghurt doesn't generally produce whey. Cheese does. Whey protein used to be the cheapest form of protein by a long way because it was just a byproduct that doesn't taste good and most people have no need for. But we are now in an age where regular people buy stuff with the word "protein" slapped on it, for some reason.

The reason is because whey protein has some huge advantages for modern consumers. It stores for long periods, can conveniently be added to smoothies, and has an incredibly high protein content. When people are for example weightlifting this is a massive boon for reaching macro targets.

Re: A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee

#154
post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yoghurt doesn't generally produce whey. Cheese does. Whey protein used to be the cheapest form of protein by a long way because it was just a byproduct that doesn't taste good and most people have no need for. But we are now in an age where regular people buy stuff with the word "protein" slapped on it, for some reason.

The reason is because whey protein has some huge advantages for modern consumers. It stores for long periods, can conveniently be added to smoothies, and has an incredibly high protein content. When people are for example weightlifting this is a massive boon for reaching macro targets.

People into bodybuilding have been using whey protein for decades. There's not that many extra people into bodybuilding now to account for the extra demand.

Re: A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee

#155
post #14

I thought about buying a supercritical CO2 extraction machine from Alibaba and having a small business around making decaf beans for roasters, but the numbers didn't work out great. I believe it was around $20k usd for the medium sized ones.

Is this written up anywhere? I.e. anywhere that walks thru a sample business model?

Re: A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee

#156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same with yogurt. Whey protein isolate goes for $11/lb, which is ridiculous pricing as a side note.

Yoghurt doesn't generally produce whey. Cheese does. Whey protein used to be the cheapest form of protein by a long way because it was just a byproduct that doesn't taste good and most people have no need for. But we are now in an age where regular people buy stuff with the word "protein" slapped on it, for some reason.

Wow I sure wonder why people might want to supplement their intake of vital macro nutrients in a world where they do not get enough from a typical diet.

Re: A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee

#157
post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason is because whey protein has some huge advantages for modern consumers. It stores for long periods, can conveniently be added to smoothies, and has an incredibly high protein content. When people are for example weightlifting this is a massive boon for reaching macro targets.

People into bodybuilding have been using whey protein for decades. There's not that many extra people into bodybuilding now to account for the extra demand.

There are orders of magnitude more people exercising at gyms with the specific goal of achieving some kind of desired body type, even if they aren't bodybuilders per se.

Re: A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee

#158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh! Gonna have to try that!

Watch out for the lead and heavy metals and cacao https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/a-third-o...

Excellent to be concerned about heavy metal exposure. Cacao typically contains lead and cadmium; the reference dose (usually defined as: The amount of a chemical a person, including sensitive groups, can be exposed to on a daily basis over an extended period of time (usually a lifetime) without suffering deleterious effects.) of lead according to EPA is 3.5 ug/kg/day and cadmium is 1 ug/kg/day. The cadmium content of cacao nibs/paste is usually 0.5-1 mg/kg and 0.025 mg/kg lead. So cadmium is the one to be concerned about here; for a 100 kg person, the RfD would be 100 ug or 0.1 mg of cadmium per day. The FDA defines the toxicological reference value for cadmium as 0.2-0.3 ug/kg, or 20-30% of the EPA's RfD. 100 grams of cacao at the high side, 1mg/kg would contain 0.1 mg of cadmium. So a daily dose of 1-2 gram of cacao per kg of body weight should be within the RfD, and 0.2-0.6 grams cacao per kg body weight would be within the TRV. It should be noted that root vegetables such as potatoes and beets also tend to contain cadmium at a rate of about 1/10 per weight compared to cacao, but I would find myself just as likely to eat 500 grams of potato or beet vs 50 grams of cacao, which would net the same amount of dietary cadmium.

So definitely don't overdo it on the cacao and eat hundreds of grams per day, but IMO no reason to avoid it completely, relative to other vegetables that can accumulate cadmium. This is not medical or dietary advice.

Re: A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee

#159
It'd be interesting to compare these 3 methods side by side starting with same beans.

I've tried, conservatively, a dozen and a half of different decafs available here in the EU, and some a markedly better than others. In fact, most are outright garbage with an exception of two that are virtually indistinguishable from each other even though they are from unrelated brands. So I wonder if the differences are due to the process rather something else.

Re: A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee

#160

So, in the Swiss Water process, caffeine-free coffee is made by soaking the beans in... caffeine-free coffee? (My initial though was, "then how do you get the cafeeine-free coffee in the first place", but I see the answer is that you can decaffeinate liquids by running them through charcoal filters... something you can't do with solid beans.)

I wonder if instant decaf is more effective, as you skip a step to pour your coffee cup.

Just get a venous catheter installed. No sense in all this pouring and crockery.
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