Swiss Water Decaffeination

A decaffeination method that removes caffeine using only water, time and carbon filtration — no chemical solvents. Green coffee is soaked in a saturated green-coffee extract that has had its caffeine stripped by activated carbon filters; the osmotic pull removes caffeine from new batches without carrying away most of the flavor compounds, since the extract is already at equilibrium with them. Originally developed in Switzerland and now practiced at a dedicated facility in Canada, the process is repeated in cycles until coffee reaches roughly 99.9% caffeine-free. For drinkers who avoid solvent-processed decaf, it is the most widely recognized alternative, and it tends to preserve a coffee’s original character more faithfully than older solvent methods.