What is the Water Process for decaffeination?

Water Process decaffeination is a broad term for any method that uses hot water as the primary extraction solvent, without chemical solvents. It encompasses the Swiss Water Process, Mountain Water Decaffeination, and various proprietary methods working on similar principles.

In general, water process methods soak green beans in hot water to extract caffeine (and initially other soluble compounds), then filter the water through activated charcoal or a similar medium to remove caffeine, and return the flavour-charged water to the beans. The result is coffee that has lost its caffeine but retained most of its flavour compounds.

The method produces a coffee that is chemical-free and typically retains good cup quality, making it a popular choice for organic-certified and clean-label specialty roasters. For specific process details, see the individual entries on Swiss Water Process and Mountain Water Decaffeination.