The decaffeination process dates back to 1905, when Ludwig Roselius developed a process that separated the caffeine from coffee beans. Decaffeinated coffee is as flavoursome as espresso coffee, while being healthier.
The alkaloid caffeine can in excessive quantities have an adverse effect on certain people. The decaffeination process is totally ecological thanks to the use of natural solvents that have no negative impact on consumer health.

Four procedures have been developed to date to extract caffeine, a soluble substance, from raw coffee:

1. ETHYL ACETATE: raw coffee beans are washed in ethyl acetate, a natural solvent.
   
   
2. WATER: method based on use of column- type extractors in which coffee beans are treated with a water solution saturated with soluble caffeine-free coffee extract.
   
   
3. METHYLENE CHLORIDE: raw coffee beans are washed with dichloromethane, a chemical solvent that evaporates naturally at temperatures higher than 40 °C.
   
   
4. CARBON DIOXIDE: method consisting in washing coffee beans with pressurised carbon dioxide (liquid gas) / P = 250 bar, that dissolves the caffeine.

Current regulations specify that decaffeinated coffee must have less than 0.1 % caffeine. The regulations also establish the volume of solvent residues present in products decaffeinated using methylene chloride.
Extracted caffeine is used by the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries.




Saquella uses the ethyl acetate decaffeination process, because:

• it is one of the most selective extraction systems
• ethyl acetate is a naturally-occurring substances, already present in coffee and other fruits, such as bananas and apricots
• it guarantees excellent product quality

Decaffeinated coffee can no longer to be dismissed as ÒfakeÓ or a mere coffee surrogate. In fact it is now able to satisfy the tastes of the real espresso lover who nonetheless wishes to cut his or her caffeine intake.
Thanks to constant research efforts, on-going technological development and the selection of the finest Arabica and Robusta, the Saquella decaffeination process maintains all the essential qualities of the bean, flavour and aroma, without the caffeine.
Saquella decaffeinated is as good as a coffee with caffeine, as scientific research and taste tests clearly show.