History of Decaf, and who invented it?

The history of decaffeinated coffee is a fascinating journey that includes scientific discoveries, health concerns, and cultural shifts. For centuries, coffee drinkers have appreciated the flavour and the stimulating effects of caffeine, but it wasn’t until the early 20th century that the idea of decaffeinated coffee really came into its own. The road to creating coffee without caffeine was far from straightforward, taking centuries to materialise due to scientific and technical challenges.

Early Attempts and Motivation

The desire for decaf began with a growing awareness of caffeine’s impact on health. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, lots of coffee was consumed in coffee houses and in the homes of wealthy people. There were rising concerns about the potential harmful effects of too much caffeine. Some people experienced insomnia, jitters, or heart problems, and doctors began to advise certain individuals to limit their intake. This led to the search for a way to retain the flavor of coffee without the stimulating effects.

The First Successful Decaffeination

Decaffeinated coffee as we know it today began in 1905 with a German coffee merchant named Ludwig Roselius, a German coffee merchant and the founder of Kaffee HAG.

Ludwig Roselius, the inventor of decaffeinated coffee

The door to the Roselius Museum in Bremen

Was Roselius a Nazi Sympathiser?

Roselius was a complicated character, a one-time admirer of Hitler, with whom he had a private meeting in Bremen in 1922.

As a prominent industrialist in Germany, Roselius initially supported the Nazi Party, contributing to its rise in the early 1930s. His company, Kaffee HAG, was a successful enterprise, and his nationalistic views aligned with the growing movement of the time.

Roselius believed in the idea of German cultural superiority and even funded projects to promote German art and history. His most notable contribution was the Böttcherstraße in Bremen, an architectural project reflecting his vision of German identity. However, while initially aligned with the Nazis, Roselius’ relationship with the regime deteriorated over time.

Hitler admired Böttcherstraße’s unique style but considered some elements “degenerate” due to their expressionist influences. Additionally, Roselius became disillusioned with the Nazis’ extreme racial policies, particularly after the regime rejected his suggestion to name the street in honor of Hitler.

The story goes that Roselius received a shipment of coffee beans that had been accidentally soaked in seawater during transport. While the beans lost their caffeine, apart from the saltiness they had acquired, the coffee retained its flavour. This gave Roselius the idea that caffeine was water soluble, and that if he saturated the beans with water and flushed it with different chemical solutions that would bond to the free-floating caffeine, he could greatly reduce the caffeine content.  Once he devised a commercially viable decaffeination process, he set up Kaffee HAG (Kaffee Handels Aktien Gesellschaft).

Roselius’ first successful method of decaffeination used benzene, a solvent that would later be discovered to be harmful. The process involved steaming the green coffee beans to open their pores and then using benzene to dissolve and remove the caffeine. Despite its early success, the use of benzene raised health concerns, and safer methods were sought.

Modern Decaffeination Techniques

Since Roselius’ discovery, several decaffeination methods have emerged, each improving the safety and flavor of the coffee. The Swiss Water Process, or Mountain Water Process, developed in the 1930s, is a chemical-free method where caffeine is extracted using hyper saturated caffeine water and activated carbon filters, preserving the bean’s natural flavors.  Supercritical CO2 extraction and chemical solvent methods (using solvents like ethyl acetate or methylene chloride) are other common approaches today. Dreambeans Decaf Dream uses the Swiss Water Method. It’s the only method we think is good enough for Dreambeans.

Cultural Shift and Demand

For much of history, decaf coffee was viewed skeptically, as many drinkers felt that the removal of caffeine also stripped the coffee of its goodness. However, as awareness of health issues like anxiety, hypertension, and caffeine sensitivity has grown, demand for decaf has steadily increased, making it a mainstream option worldwide.

The centuries-long quest to create decaf coffee reflects the broader story of coffee’s evolution from a medicinal drink to a global cultural staple.

In our house, most of the time we drink caffeinated coffee, but sometimes after dinner it’s great to have a rich cup of Decaf Dream, safe in the knowledge that we can drink as much as we want and it won’t affect our sleep

The Swiss Water (or Mountain Water) Method is the best means of removing caffeine.