Decaffeination of aqueous extracts

摘要

Aqueous extracts of roasted coffee are stripped of aroma, concentrated and thereafter decaffeinated by means of contact with a decaffeinating fluid such as liquid or supercritical carbon dioxide. Aroma loss is minimized by using water to remove caffeine and aroma from the CO2 stream, recovering aromatics from this caffeine-containing aqueous stream and adding-back these aromatics to the decaffeinated extract. Preferably equipment cost is minimized by use of a single pressure vessel to transfer the caffeine from the extract stream to the CO2 and from the CO2 to the water stream.