Processing · decaffeination
The Swiss Water process removes 99.9% of caffeine with only water, temperature and carbon filters, and no chemical solvents. How it works; why roasters use it.
The Swiss Water process removes caffeine using only water, temperature and activated carbon filters.
Green coffee is soaked in water, which dissolves caffeine and the flavor compounds. That water is passed through carbon filters sized to trap caffeine molecules while letting flavor compounds through.
The result is green coffee extract saturated with flavor but free of caffeine. New batches of coffee are then soaked in that extract — so caffeine leaves the bean by diffusion, while flavor compounds have nowhere to go because the surrounding liquid is already saturated with them.
It removes around 99.9 percent of the caffeine while retaining far more flavor than early solvent methods, and it uses no chemical solvents at all.
That makes it compatible with organic certification and the default for specialty decaf.
Mountain Water works on the same principle. CO₂ processes use pressurized carbon dioxide. Solvent methods (ethyl acetate, methylene chloride) remain common commercially and are less gentle.
Grind a step coarser — decaffeinated beans are more brittle and extract faster.
The process was developed in Switzerland, but the Swiss Water company decaffeinates its coffee in British Columbia, Canada.
The process was developed in Switzerland, but the Swiss Water company decaffeinates its coffee in British Columbia, Canada.
The equipment this actually requires — not a shopping list, the shortest route to doing it properly.
60° cone · spiral ribs · 1–4 cups
The most transparent cup you can brew for twenty dollars, and the least forgiving. Ceramic holds heat where plastic does not — and the open bottom means your pour, not the dripper, decides the coffee.
Best for: Someone who wants to taste what a single-origin coffee is actually doing.
64 mm (2.52 in) flat burr · filter only · single dose
64 mm (2.52 in) flat burrs, near-zero retention and a footprint the size of a mug, built for filter and honest about not doing espresso. For pour-over it is the clearest grind you can buy at this price.
Best for: V60, Chemex, AeroPress and batch brewing, where clarity is the whole point.
0.9 L · ±1 °C (±1.8 °F) hold · counterbalanced gooseneck
The best-pouring kettle sold, and the hold function matters more than the thermometer. Expensive for boiling water — but if you brew pour-over daily, it is the accessory that most improves the cup.
Best for: Daily pour-over, where flow rate is the variable you are trying to control.
