Coffee has become an indelible part of the British diet and is competing with tea for cups drunk per day and per year. That’s great news for coffee lovers.
While coffee has many health benefits, too much caffeine can have detrimental effects.
That’s why decaf coffee is so popular. It can deliver that delicious coffee flavor and aroma and many of those health benefits, without overstimulating us.
If you’re on the fence about whether to accept decaf coffee into your diet or your office, we are here to help.
We have extolled the virtues of decaf coffee for years. With the quality of decaf coffee now being better than ever, we believe it should be a part of everyone’s diet.
We’ll give you some great reasons why.
First, we need to dispel a common myth we often see and hear around decaf coffee.
The truth about decaf coffee
Decaffeinated coffee is not 100% caffeine free. The decaffeination process removes the vast majority of the caffeine, but a small amount remains.
An average cup of caffeine may have anywhere from 95 – 140 milligrams of caffeine. An average cup of decaf coffee may have anywhere between 0.5 – 2 milligrams of caffeine.
So, while the amount is vastly reduced, there is just a little bit of caffeine in decaf coffee.
Currently, quality coffee uses the Swiss water process to decaffeinate coffee. This uses a special blend of water, warmth, coffee and time. Green coffee beans are soaked in water until the caffeine becomes soluble and enters the water.
That water is then filtered to remove the caffeine and the green coffee extract is mixed with fresh green coffee beans. A completely natural process means the caffeine in those fresh beans transfers to the green coffee extract, leaving fresh coffee beans with far lower caffeine levels.
It’s totally natural, uses no chemicals and results in some of the best decaf coffee you’ll ever drink.
So enough about the how, let’s get back to discussing the benefits of decaf coffee.
Moderate your caffeine intake
It’s frustrating for many of us that we have to moderate our intake of something so delicious to limit caffeine.
Caffeine is a stimulant and too much can upset our natural rhythms. Drinking too much caffeine can
overstimulate our brain, prevent a good night’s sleep, cause heart palpitations and contribute to other health problems.
Including decaf coffee in your diet is a way to enjoy that delicious coffee taste without those downsides.
When the quality of well-chosen decaf coffee is equal to that of standard coffee, it’s definitely not a compromise to include decaf!
Enjoy coffee all day long
A side effect of caffeine, as we just discussed, is that it’s a stimulant. Drinking too much will not help you get a good night’s sleep.
If you find yourself tired but unable to stop your brain from working or even slowing down, perhaps you might need to look at how much and when you drink coffee.
Decaf coffee can help with that.
You could drink regular coffee in the morning and decaf in the afternoon. That way, your system has enough time to metabolise the coffee in plenty of time for bed.
Personal choice
Not everyone wants to ingest stimulants, however natural they may be. There are also some people who are sensitive to caffeine
In both these situations, good quality decaf coffee enables you to enjoy the taste and aroma without impacting on your way of life or causing any digestive issues.
Quality is better than ever
Not all that long ago, there was a distinct difference in the taste and quality of decaf coffee. That’s no longer true.
The quality of beans and processing means there is very little difference in flavour between full coffee and decaffeinated coffee.
This is especially true if you use decaf coffee processed using the Swiss Water Method!
Antioxidants without the stimulants
Coffee is known for containing antioxidants that can help cleanse the body and rid it of free radicals. It also has vitamin B3, which also contributes to this cleansing process.
While a side benefit of coffee, it’s still a benefit and, along with a healthy diet, can contribute to our overall health and wellbeing.
Decaf coffee is the ideal way to keep ingesting these antioxidants without any of the negative impact of overstimulating our system with too much coffee.
Decaf will have slightly lower levels of antioxidants as some are lost during the decaffeination process, but will still contribute towards your overall health.
In fact, coffee is the primary provider of antioxidants in our diet. It provides more hydrocinnamic acids and polyphenols than anything else in the western diet.
So, perhaps adding decaf to your daily intake really could benefit your health.
Lower acidity than regular coffee
If you’re more sensitive to acidity, suffer from heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), black coffee is probably not your favourite drink. However, switch to decaf coffee and you could reintroduce it into your diet.
We have all seen those TV shows where coffee was blamed for upset stomachs and heartburn. While most of that is exaggerated, coffee is acidic and won’t suit everyone.
The good news is that acidity is reduced as part of the decaffeination process. When the coffee beans are decaffeinated, some of the acid within the bean is washed out along with the caffeine.
This means anyone sensitive to caffeine can now enjoy the same espresso or delicious black coffee you may have missed.
The rise and rise of decaf coffee
There aren’t many times in life or business when you don’t have to compromise on something to get what you want. Decaf coffee is one of those times.
Roast & Ground can supply machines that cater to all the needs of your staff and customers, with machines that can offer a decaf option. Such as the Rex Royal S500, which can offer up to three different coffees and the other Rex-Royal machines that can offer up to two different beans - Rex Royal
You get the same delicious flavour and aroma, can choose from up to 24 speciality coffees, and enjoy the satisfaction that the fresh coffee experience brings. All with much less caffeine than regular coffee.
If that isn’t reason enough to include it in your daily routine or add it to your office coffee machine, we don’t know what is!
Contact Roast & Ground today for expert advice on coffee machines.
