Is decaf coffee caffeine free?

Unlike many drinks that have added caffeine, it is naturally present in coffee beans. The decaffeination process involves rinsing the beans with a solvent that extracts the caffeine, a process that must be repeated eight to 12 times. Coffee contains hundreds of compounds that affect the taste, and the solvent must necessarily eliminate some of these along with the caffeine.

Decaffeination removes most of the caffeine present, but not all. Outside the European Union, international standards only require 97% to be removed in order for the coffee to be called “decaf.” In 2007, Consumer Reports tested 36 brands of decaf coffee and found that some contained up to 20 mg of caffeine (a regular cup contains anywhere from 95 to 200 mg, while a can of Coke contains 32 mg).

“If someone drinks five to 10 cups of decaffeinated coffee, the dose of caffeine could easily reach the level present in a cup or two of caffeinated coffee,” said Bruce Goldberger, Ph.D., a professor and director of the University of Florida’s William R. Maples Center for Forensic Medicine. “This could be a concern for people who are advised to cut their caffeine intake, such as those with kidney disease or anxiety disorders.”