Hi,
The other day, I caught a sound byte on a news program about a recent(?) 
study that said decaff coffee was more unhealthy than regular, or something 
to that effect (you can see I wasn't paying close attention). Did anyone 
else catch that? And would you have any more info on it that you  can share 
with us?
Ciao,
Angelo
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I have read that one chemical process that they use to remove the caffeine
involves very toxic chemicals.
I am also curious about pesticide treatment of imported coffee beans. I know
that many imported fruits and vegetables are sprayed and/or "fumigated"
before reaching the US, but don't know about coffee.
Do you have any info on this Tom??
Richard Estes
Bellingham, WA USA
richardhttp://www.richardestes.info/index/<Snip>
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From: "Richard Estes" 
Subject: RE: +Decaff, and health...
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 15:43:50 -0800
<Snip>
Those post-harvest pesticides are for prolonging the shelf life of
fruits, potatoes, etc. but I suspect dry products like coffee are not
worth using such an extra process.
<Snip>
<Snip>
There are many untrustworthy reports on these because it's an easy way
for media to get attention. Don't play right into media's hands by
repeating agitating messages! You know, these days, everything causes
cancer and everything is good for your health, often because two (or
more) groups use different experimental methods!! If you care, get the
primary source where the details of experimental methods and results
can be found.
Ryuji
--
Ryuji Suzuki
"A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at
night, and in between he does what he wants to do." (Bob Dylan)
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1 of 3 methods of decaffenating coffee uses a very small amount of a=
  chemical which would be toxic in larger amounts. It is subsequently=
 removed so there is no health hazard. Remember the words of Paracelsus,=
 "The right dose differentiates a poison and a remedy." He was the man who=
 found a cure for syphilis based on Mercury, which was the best cure=
 available for about 350 years until Paul Ehrlich found a better one based=
 if I remember right, on arsenic.
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
On 02/22/2002 at 3:43 PM Richard Estes wrote:
<Snip>
Steve Shank
Oregon Computer Solutionshttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast">http://www.steveshank.comhomeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast

       R.S.,
       
       Very well put.  A 30 yr. old doctor of micro/macro biology can attest 
to your precise statement.  One other broad statement.......if it (pesticide) 
isn't good for the health of an insect, it isn't good !
       
       Carl
               "........no, no, no, it can't happen here"/Frank Zappa

< [mailto:homeroast-admin]On Behalf Of Angelo
< Sent: Friday, February 22, 2002 10:13 AM
<
< The other day, I caught a sound byte on a news program about a recent(?)
< study that said decaff coffee was more unhealthy than regular, or
< something
< to that effect (you can see I wasn't paying close attention). Did anyone
< else catch that? And would you have any more info on it that you
< can share with us?
Yes I remember that news story.  The gist of it was that a research study
showed that drinking more than 4 cups of decaf coffee per day could increase
risk of some kind of arthritic condition.  Whether it's true or not, I have
no idea.
------------------------------
Lee in San Diego
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Decaffinating coffee is done by introducing hot water to the green beans,
dissolving both the flavor and the caffine.  The water is then seperated
from the beans, the caffine is removed and the remaining flavor returned to
the bean.  It is pretty rough treatment for the delicate beans and quite
damaging, that's why decafs are more difficult to roast.
1. The Swiss water method used charcoal filters to remove the caffine, but
it tends to remove more of the flavour too.
2. In the sparkling water method C02 is used to zap the caffine.
3. The "toxic chemical" used in the traditional method is ethyl acetate (a
volatile solvent).  The caffine and solvent float to the top and are
removed.  The solvent does not come into contact with the bean.  In any case
even if it did it is so volatile that the roasting process will zap it.
Since ethyl acetate occurs naturally in plants advertisers now call this
same process "naturally decafinated".
Since finding out about this, a decaf is a decaf to me.  I've also found
that anything that is not taken in moderation could affect your health --
including spending too much time roasting and tasting coffee (unless your
name is Tom...).
Erlich Phua
Singapore