The market for decaffeinated coffee and coffee alternatives.
Hot or cold, coffee remains one of the most consumed beverages worldwide. A mere cup of it makes us feel a burst of energy thanks to its caffeine content.
Certain plants, such as those from the genus Coffea, evolved to produce caffeine as a survival strategy since it acts as a pesticide. But what no one could foresee was how a few goats were going to change the history of the Coffea plants forever.
According to the legend, we owe our morning cups of coffee to Kaldi, a goat herder from Ethiopia who lived in the 9th century. Kaldi noticed that after his goats ate the red fruits from a shrub, they became unusually jumpy and stayed awake all night. That shrub was a Coffea plant.
Nowadays we use only the seeds inside the cherries from the Coffea plant, rather than eating the whole fruit like Kaldi’s goats. These seeds are known as green coffee beans, and we ferment and roast them before brewing a cup of coffee. And oh my, we brew a lot of it!
In the USA, more than 670 million cups of coffee are consumed every day. This is equivalent to two cups per person living in the USA, daily! Around 80 million of those cups (12%) are decaffeinated (decaf) coffee, made with coffee beans containing 97% less of the original caffeine content. To put this into context, an 8-oz cup of coffee contains 80–100 mg of caffeine, meanwhile a cup of decaf only 2 mg or less.
Decaffeination process (or how to make jitter-less coffee).
In the early 1900s, the German coffee merchant Ludwig Roselius received a shipment with a box of coffee beans that had been accidentally submerged in seawater. After brewing them, Roselius realized that the coffee contained very little caffeine. He used this as inspiration to develop and patent the first commercial process to remove the caffeine from coffee beans, by soaking them in solvents. This process of removing caffeine from green coffee beans is now called decaffeination. More than a century later, industrial decaffeination continues to be based on the same principle as Roselius’ method: the ability of caffeine to dissolve in different substances. While solvents remain in use, other approaches utilize water and carbon dioxide (CO2).
In one method, known as solvent decaffeination, the beans are soaked in solvent causing the caffeine to transfer from the bean to the solvent (similar to how nail polish goes from the painted nail to the acetone in the cotton). Then the beans are steamed to evaporate the solvent next to the newly attached caffeine.
A modification of the previous approach aims to limit the contact between the beans and solvents, thus called indirect solvent decaffeination. Here, the beans are soaked in hot water causing the caffeine and other molecules (including those related to flavor) to be released from the beans. Following the removal of beans, the water is mixed with a solvent to which caffeine binds, and then the mixture is heated so that the solvent and its bound caffeine get eliminated. Finally, the beans are re-soaked in the water to reabsorb the non-caffeine molecules left behind.
Like the indirect process, in the Swiss water method the beans are soaked in water, but here activated carbon is used to remove the caffeine from the water, instead of a solvent. Activated carbon is a porous charcoal that likes to absorb certain molecules on its surface, molecules such as caffeine.
The other most used method uses ‘supercritical’ CO2. This is the same carbon dioxide that exists in the atmosphere and the kind that we breathe out; however, there is one extra property that makes it ‘supercritical’: it is compressed to a certain pressure and temperature until it behaves like liquid and gas at the same time. This is ideal for removing caffeine because the CO2 can simultaneously penetrate the beans like a gas and dissolve the caffeine like a liquid. Luckily, the supercritical CO2 leaves behind in the beans the characteristic flavor and smell of coffee that we love so much.
A cup of (decaf) coffee a day keeps the doctor away.
Besides momentarily boosting your energy levels and its pleasant flavor, coffee seems to be beneficial for human health. Drinking it regularly is associated with a 30% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, 27% for Alzheimer’s, and 17% for cardiovascular disease (numbers might vary between studies). While the fact that these two things are related does not necessarily mean that one causes the other, researchers have theories and some evidence on why coffee may actually be good for you.
One thing that type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer and cardiovascular disease have in common is that early on, the body is in a state of continuous inflammation. Inflammation is the body’s natural and necessary response against harm, but when it continues for a long time, it has repercussions on the body. One characteristic of inflammation is the overproduction of molecules that promote inflammation, and too many of these molecules can amplify this response and lead to even more inflammation (what a vicious cycle!). Here is where coffee may help. Coffee contains many compounds that act as antioxidants: caffeine, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, and many others. In fact, coffee and tea are some of the beverages with the highest amount and diversity of antioxidants. Drinking coffee regularly increases the concentration of its antioxidants in the body, which can fight back against oxidation and thus help to reduce inflammation.
But excess of anything is bad, even coffee. Consuming too much caffeine can disrupt sleep, cause or exacerbate anxiety, and increase blood pressure (that’s why people with hypertension are advised to go easy on caffeine). The public concerns about some of these effects of caffeine intake drove the development of decaf coffee in the first place — Ludwig Roselius, who invented the first commercial decaffeination process, was sure that his father had died due to drinking too much coffee; even though he had no proof of it, this motivated his work. Ok, but how much is too much caffeine? According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), around 400 milligrams (found in four 8-oz cups of coffee) is the sweet spot for most people to get the health benefits without the potential drawbacks. So, we can say that more than that is too much, yet this might depend on each person’s tolerance for caffeine or underlying diseases. Always talk to your doctor for advice.
Luckily, decaf coffee exists, and you can get it in almost every convenience store and coffee shop. Many studies suggest that consuming decaf coffee exerts the same health benefits as regular coffee without caffeine’s possible drawbacks, perhaps because it is packed with other potent antioxidants.
Who are the decaf drinkers and how much are they drinking?
In 2019, the global market for decaf coffee was estimated at $1.65 billion USD and is expected to grow at a 5–7% compounded annually in the following decade. From this, the US holds almost 3% of the market.
According to the National Coffee Association, in the US the equivalent of two cups of coffee per person are drank every day, from which 0.24 cups are decaf coffee. Considering that the population in the US is more than 335 million people, that is a lot of coffee — to be a bit more exact, that is approximately 670 million cups of coffee, from which about 80 million cups are decaf.
Hispanic-Americans stood out as the ethnicity with the highest consumption of decaf coffee in the US (compared to Causasian-American, African-American, and Asian-American), around 12% of the total coffee drank was decaf. Regarding age, young adults between 18–24 were the largest group of decaf drinkers, accounting for 19% of consumers.
If not decaf, then what?
Companies and consumers must be aware that other options exist for those who, for health reasons or by choice, don’t drink coffee or decaf.
An already established alternative is brewed tea like green tea, black tea, and matcha. These teas also contain a very high concentration of antioxidant compounds; while different than those in coffee, they have also been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Yerba mate is another alternative, particularly popular in Argentina and other South American countries. But all these teas also contain caffeine, though in a lower concentration than coffee.
Roasted and brewed cacao, or the roots of chicory and dandelion plants produce a beverage of similar color and flavor as coffee, but without caffeine. These ingredients also contain antioxidant compounds that have been suggested as responsible for some of the health benefits of consuming the coffee made with them. Cacao, chicory, and dandelion coffee can be purchased throughout the US.
A final alternative is beverages made from adaptogens. Adaptogens are plants and fungi that, when ingested, enhance humans’ resistance to stress or speed up the process of adapting to stress. The most famous adaptogens consumed worldwide are ginseng and holy basil, with their consumption tracing back centuries in East Asia. On the downside, adaptogens cost up to four times more than coffee per pound, and some concerns have been raised over inconsistent quality and safety since they are not regulated by the FDA.
In summary, decaf coffee is an increasingly popular alternative to coffee that offers the same health benefits without the drawbacks of consuming too much caffeine. While the market for decaf coffee has matured since its inception more than a hundred years ago, opportunities exist to enter this market by targeting young adults, whose consumption of decaf coffee continues to increase rapidly. Another opportunity, for both consumers looking for alternatives to coffee entirely and for incoming businesses, can be found in alternative beverages made from cacao, chicory, and dandelion, or in adaptogens such as holy basil and ginseng.
Both the decaf coffee and coffee alternatives warrant further investigation into their respective markets as they have promising potential for both consumers and businesses alike.
What do you prefer, decaf or alternative coffee?
Based on: https://foodandhealth.ucdavis.edu/the-market-for-decaffeinated-coffee-and-coffee-alternatives/
