Can we cope without caffeine in our coffee?

In the news last week it was revealed that a cafe in New York is the first in the city to be selling only decaffeinated coffee! Yes – it’s true! Now we all know that New York is the city that never sleeps….but how can it be possible to keep going all day and into the night without caffeine’s help?

It’s not easy keeping up today’s hectic lifestyle, and reducing or removing caffeine surely won’t help as so many of us rely on coffee to kick-start our morning and for the rest of the day. With New Yorkers currently putting this to the test, we thought we would investigate if coffee can really be completely caffeine free.

Coffee is the bitter dark drink that we all love and is constantly in the news with studies affirming the positive impact it can have on our health. However, as we know, it can also be addictive and some people choose to either completely avoid it or keep their caffeine intake low. But whether you are avoiding caffeine for doctor’s orders or personal reasons, you may have sometimes wondered if decaf is really caffeine free.

Whilst there is some variance in coffee, decaffeinated coffee certainly does contain caffeine – just in lower amounts. A study carried out two years ago discovered that while a single cup of coffee contained around 85 milligrams of caffeine, decaf servings ranged from 3 to 15.8 milligrams. So although much lower, there is some caffeine present. If you have strict doctor’s orders to avoid all caffeine, then decaf is not for you. And if you are someone who drinks coffee continually throughout the day, then even on decaf, those milligrams can add up.

If you are looking to reduce your caffeine then drinking decaf is still a great choice. We also recommend that you choose water-processed decaf coffee as many decaf coffees go through a chemical process so loose lots of natural goodness.