Coffee beans have caffeine naturally in them. How is the caffeine removed from them to create decaffeinated coffee?
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Think of it like this:
You have a bunch of M&Ms. You want to eat all the M&Ms, but you only want to eat the chocolate part, not the candy shell. So, you take a bunch of M&Ms and put them in a bowl, and then you pour hot water over them. The hot water melts the candy shell, but not the chocolate part. So, you pour off the water (with the candy shell in it) and you’re left with just the chocolate.
Caffeine is like the candy shell – it’s a coating on the coffee bean. When you remove the caffeine, you’re just left with the coffee bean.
Another good analogy is to think of it like peeling an apple. The skin is the caffeine and the apple is the coffee bean. When you peel the apple, you’re just left with the apple.
Now, to get into more detail, sometimes a solvents is used to remove the caffeine. But, more often, the coffee beans are soaked in water. The caffeine dissolves in the water, but the coffee beans don’t. So, the water with the caffeine in it is drained off, and you’re left with just the coffee beans.
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