Chemical Free? Buyer Beware!

• The terms “water process” or “European process” or “naturally decaffeinated” are sometimes used to describe different decaffeination processes. In fact, all of these terms often refer to decaffeination processes that use chemicals!
• There are many different ways to decaffeinate coffee. Today, the most prevalent decaffeination processes use chemical solvents – methylene chloride or ethyl acetate – to remove caffeine. Some coffees claim to be naturally decaffeinated (because ethyl acetate may be found in it’s natural state in citrus fruits), but in fact use a synthetically derived chemical ethyl acetate.
• Some non-chemical processes include water or carbon dioxide (CO2). But the truth is, all decaffeination processes use water in some form! So, even if they indicate “water” in their decaffeination process, this does not necessarily mean that the process is chemical-free – although this may be the implication.
• By the way, organic coffees decaffeinated using chemicals invalidates all claims to organic certification status!

There’s only one SWISS WATER® process – a 100% chemical-free decaffeination process that delivers 99.9% caffeine-free coffee. (The SWISS WATER® Process was originally developed in Switzerland, and the only SWISS WATER® Process production facility is in Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada.)