Don't Be Scared of Decaf!

William Barton, Head Roaster | Fortuna Enterprises, LLC

Image from: Pexels
A Brief History of Decaf 

Decaffeinated coffee has developed a bad reputation over the years. We wanted to take a moment to dispel the myths and discuss what specifically makes Fortuna’s decaf special. As you likely know, coffee is naturally caffeinated. In the early 20th century, a German merchant, Ludwig Roselius, discovered a way of separating caffeine from the green coffee bean. Unfortunately, Ludwig’s method involved soaking the green beans in the poisonous solvent, benzene. While no one currently uses benzene--a known carcinogen--the most common practice still involves the use of the chemical solvents dichloromethane and ethyl acetate. Sound delicious? We didn’t think so either.
The Fortuna Decaf Difference 

At Fortuna, we bring in two different types of decaffeinated coffee: Mountain Water Decaffeinated and Swiss Water Decaffeinated. These are both separately patented processes but they work in very similar ways. Most importantly, these processes are more effective at removing caffeine, maintaining the flavor of the original green coffee, and they do not use any chemical solvents. Caffeine is a water-soluble chemical, meaning it can be removed with water. However, many of the acids that provide coffee with its flavor are also water-soluble. With chemically decaffeinated coffees, the chemical mixture strips the coffee of both its caffeine and its flavor, hence decaf’s (in many cases well-deserved!) bad reputation. With both the Mountain Water and Swiss Water decaffeination processes, green coffee is steamed until its pores open, making it easier for the caffeine to dissolve. The coffee is then soaked in water and the coffee solids and flavorful acids from the previous batch of green coffee. The caffeine is removed with a carbon filter while the flavor components uptake into the bean within hours. What you’re left with is a coffee bean with the full flavor of a specialty bean but with 99.9% of its caffeine removed.
Try It Out! 

Decaf drinking newcomers to the Fortuna family are always surprised when they taste the quality of our options. We currently offer five single origin decafs, Decaf House Blend*, and Decaf Sergio’s Espresso*. Even if you usually stick to just the caffeinated stuff, take the time to explore some of these options for the decaf drinker in your life. Enjoy!

- William Barton
Roast Master
Fortuna Enterprises, LLC


(* = organic also available!)


Fortuna Enterprises - Want it all? We have it all!

Established in 2000, Fortuna Enterprises is the consummate leader in providing complete and comprehensive solutions for all of your coffee shop needs. Located in Greensboro, NC, Fortuna excels in unparalleled customer service by offering specialty roasted small-batch coffee, a fully stocked warehouse, imports, design, equipment repair, consulting, barista training, and more!

We are compelled to be the unsurpassed authority for all coffee shop requirements. We use this drive to continue our extensive research in carefully selecting only the highest quality coffees, equipment, syrups and other coffee shop necessities. Our products have a proven record of premium industry performance and unmatched reliability. We buy large quantities from our suppliers so we are in turn able to negotiate extremely competitive pricing for our customers. 

We look forward to hearing from you about how we can take you from concept to completion!

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