A preference for better tasting gourmet coffee and a desire to avoid caffeine by both older and young coffee drinkers is awakening global demand for decaffeinated roast.
By Annelise Kelly
A preference for coffee decaffeinated using a water extraction process along with rising demand in Asia convinced Coffein Compagnie to both build and buy additional capacity this year.
Coffein Compagnie, which operates the largest decaffeination plant in the world in Bremen, Germany, this spring acquired the Hiang Kie decaffeination plant in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam. Managing director Jens Eckhoff said the company will also build a new water process decaffeination plant in Bremen to boost capacity and diversify its offerings.
According to Eckhoff, Coffein Compagnie is facing capacity issues that these two projects will help resolve. Its existing Bremen plant, described by National Public Radio (NPR) in 2016 as the largest decaffeination plant in the world, processes 100,000-120,000 metric tons annually using both methylene chloride and ethyl acetate caffeine extraction. The Hiang Kie plant processes about 30,000 metric tons annually with the methylene chloride process―a volume Coffein Compagnie intends to increase. The new Bremen plant will initially process 10,000 metric tons of coffee annually, with capacity for increased volume in coming years.
Two large decaffeination plants have closed recently. Swiss-based ECOM Agroindustrial Corporation which owns Atlantic Coffee Solutions in Houston, Tex., closed its doors in June for economic reasons, and German brand Jacobs Douwe Egberts closed its Café Hag facility in Bremen in 2017. The Houston facility used supercritical (liquid) CO2 to extract caffeine, a more energy-intensive process than other extraction methods. Because of these closures, Eckhoff anticipates an increased demand for Coffein Compagnie’s product, regardless of whether decaf increases its market share. Eckhoff also anticipates that Coffein Compagnie will save freight and logistics costs by shipping product directly from the Vietnam plant, especially locally grown robusta.
Coffee bean decaffeination is a growing industry in Vietnam. In 2015, Nestlé made news by constructing a large decaffeination plant in Dong Nai, in part to process Vietnamese-grown robusta beans for global distribution. The Nestlé plant relies on a water-based extraction process. Other businesses with coffee processing facilities in Vietnam include Neumann Gruppe, based in Hamburg, Intimex Import-Export Joint-Stock Company, and Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group (MZB Group).
Once its Bremen water decaf plant begins production, Coffein Compagnie will be able to supply decaf using three of the four accepted techniques for caffeine extraction. Its current plant in Bremen processes beans with both accepted solvents, ethyl acetate and methylene chloride (also called dichloromethane in some markets). Preference varies by market. Roasters choose different methods based on cup profile, according to Eckhoff.
The new German plant will be operational in 18 to 24 months. “We see the future in water, not in CO2. We bought the Hiang Kie plant because we see a future in the global decaf market,” said Eckhoff. Decaf is growing in Europe, particularly in Spain, which he describes as “a very good market.” In Spain, 20% of coffee drinkers prefer decaf, compared to 10% in the US. Both traditional decaffeination processes are accepted throughout Europe, though it is thought by some that methylene chloride is best at maintaining coffee flavor. Neither is permitted in the processing of organic coffee under the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules. Except in the case of certified organic coffee, “CO2 and water process are not important” in Europe, says Eckhoff. “Certain clients use all of them, some clients use only one method,” says Eckhoff.
Coffee drinkers in Asia generally do not request decaf, leading to slow growth, according to Eckhoff, who anticipates an increase: “Decaf is getting more popular, growing for sure, and regular coffee is as well.” While decaf currently accounts for a smaller market share in Asia than in Europe or the United States, “in the future we think it will grow really fast and be a good opportunity for us,” he said.
Eckhoff anticipates only modest changes at their new Hiang Kie facility. “The process will stay the same at Hiang Kie, we’ll stay with the same people,” says Eckhoff, “we are just investing to make it better, more efficient.” The methylene chloride process used at Hiang Kie is widely accepted in Asia. However, Japan and Korea require that decaffeinated beans be processed either with CO2 or water.
Certified organic coffee is showing steady growth, according to Eckhoff, “Every year it is going up maybe 10%. Not much, but it’s growing for sure.” Organic certification bodies universally require either CO2 or water process decaffeination.
Canada is the only country that requires that the solvent or process be stated on the label. That regulation, along with the presence of the Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company plant near Vancouver, BC, tilt Canadian preferences toward water process. The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code permits methylene chloride extraction as well as CO2 and water process so long as the coffee contains caffeine concentrations no greater than 2mg/kg.
The difference between the techniques is small, says Eckhoff. “It depends on the roaster and the cup profile. Sometimes a roaster likes one more than the other, and it also very frequently depends on what type of coffee you’re using.”
“Over the last couple of years, the decaf market was really steady,” says Eckhoff, but with market growth “we are making a lot of effort. We’re getting more involved in details, in talking to roasters, finding out what we can do better, what we can do to make it more popular,” he said.
Limits
The amount of caffeine permitted in decaffeinated coffee varies. Several countries set a maximum. Australia, for example, permits no more than 2mg/kg. The European Union states that roasted decaf coffee may contain no more than 0.1% caffeine, resulting in a 99.9% caffeine-free product. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines note that decaffeination processes remove 94-98% of the caffeine present in the green bean. An FDA spokesperson suggests a baseline of 97% removal. The precise amount of caffeine measured in milligrams per kilo varies by varietal and is significantly greater in robusta. Origin is also a factor. In addition, coffee grown slowly at higher altitudes generally has lesser concentrations of caffeine.
There are an estimated 188 milligrams of caffeine in a 16-ounce cup of arabica, according to a study conducted by the University of Florida. Researchers there found the average 16-ounce cup of decaf contained 9.4 mg of caffeine. Caffeine in samples of decaf taken from 10 retail establishments varied from 0 to 13.9 mg. Samples of decaf espresso at these same locations (using the same base coffee) were found to contain 3-15.8 mg of caffeine indicating the brewing method also influences the actual amount of caffeine in the cup.