Being an avid drinker of coffee, I never could figure out the reason following decaffeinated coffee. People usually drink coffee or espresso for the caffeine fix, so I always wondered as to why anyone would drink decaffeinated coffee. Would it not just defeat the purpose of drinking coffee? However, I finally saw the light and managed to figure out why decaffeinated coffee existed. This helped me immensely to sustain some sort of extravagance during my pregnancy and I also found out that I was not drinking coffee just for the caffeine fix and that I quite rather liked the taste of different coffee types.
During my pregnancy I was one of those nutcases who had read up everything that could go wrong during a pregnancy and tried to avoid those possible causes like anything. For instance, I avoided aspartame only because they were unsure of the effects it might have on the baby and I stayed away from lunchmeat because it had a minute possibility of a listeria infection. Hence, when I got to know that caffeine had the possibility to cause miscarriages, I tried to avoid regular coffee. Now, to reach the parameters that were measured in the studies for miscarriages to happen, a person would have to drink at least three cups of coffee daily. However, after reading that I was scared enough to confine myself to drinking decaffeinated sodas and coffees.
When I was halfway through my pregnancy, there was an expose show on the T.V on whether the decaffeinated coffee that we order in restaurants and coffee shops are really decaffeinated or not. I knew that decaffeinated coffee was not totally void of the substance and had small traces of caffeine in it. I also knew that I was not taking in amounts that were close to regular coffee. However, in the T.V show they revealed that the caffeine levels in decaffeinated coffee was close to the levels of the caffeine in a regular brew. They also reveled that this was the situation in around sixty percent of the places. This happened mainly because the machines and pots were not properly cleaned before the next pot was used or because of cross brewing. This particular case would not affect most situations, but in cases where there are medical conditions this would have taken a serious turn.
It is a fact that this would truly affect my situation in any way and I also realize it. But, I am such a nutcase that I have completely cut out coffee (whether regular or decaffeinated) from my diet during my pregnancy. Unless I had brewed the coffee at home, I had totally removed caffeine free coffee during the fall and winter months. I should also say that during the last few months of my pregnancy this change had not helped my demeanor in any way.
Long ago it was realized that there was a way to enjoy a cup of coffee that you love without the caffein that you wish to avoid. It has become a very common thing to decaffeinate coffee. Does the decaffeinating process change the flavor of the coffee? Can you tell the difference? If processed and prepared well, studies have proven that there is very little difference in the taste of regular coffee and decaffeinated coffee. What is the decaffeinating process? One necessary step for removing caffeine is exposing the coffee beans to hot water and then passing them through methylene chloride. When picked from the tree the coffee beans is removed from its fruit and rinsed thoroughly to remove the pulpy fruit from the bean. And possibly you were unaware your grounds had taken a dip in the swimming pool before being served. (Ok, swimming pool water is really dilute hydrochloric acid, not methylene chloride. Never let a chemist stand between you and a good line.) Because of the processing that the coffee beans go through at times the taste may be altered a bit. It may be more due to the process than the lack of caffeine that makes you notice a difference in the flavor. To decaffeinate the beans using chemicals they must first be steamed to open up the pores of the beans. This allows the caffeine to be pulled from the bean when soaked in methylene chloride. Another method is to place the beans in hot water for a longer period of time. After several hours the beans can be removed. The time in the hot water pulls the flavor and the caffeine out of the bean and into the water. Then the methylene chloride is added to the water to remove the caffeine from the water. The beans are then returned to the water to so that the flavor that still remains in the water can be reabsorbed into the beans. In another decaffeinating process charcoal is used instead of methylene chloride. The beans are placed in hot water for hours and then removed the same as with the process described above. However, this time to remove the caffeine from the water the water is strained over charcoal. The caffeine from the water binds to the charcoal so that the beans can be replaced in a caffeine free bath in full flavored water.
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Rob Carlton has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Improvement, Install Flooring and Pregnancy. Robert Carlton usually publishes detailed papers on information related to espresso and espresso. You might come across his