Why Removing Caffeine From Drinks Changes The Flavor

Caffeine is an alkaloid chemical compound naturally found in lots of plants, including coffee beans and the kola nuts used as the basis for flavoring drinks like Coca-Cola. It resembles a white powder in its pure form, and it's capable of stimulating your central nervous symptom, although it's effectiveness varies from person to person. When it comes to how much caffeine is in a can of Coke versus a cup of coffee, coffee is the clear winner. Of course, decaf coffee is different. But how different is it, exactly?

In those situations where drinks like soda and coffee have caffeine-free variants, these non-caffeinated versions can taste different from their peppier counterparts. Sometimes, the change is big enough to really make you wonder if taking out that caffeine actually changes the flavor. This does appear to be true: Pure caffeine does have a flavor. It's extremely bitter tasting, and while it's far too bitter to consume raw, it can mildly contribute a pleasant bite to any drinks which contain it. Removing this caffeine makes coffee or soda slightly less bitter and more sweet, even if there's still a tiny amount of caffeine in decaf coffee. Plus, when it comes to decaf coffee in particular, the lack of bitterness from caffeine isn't the only variable.

There's some fascinating science behind decaf coffee: The methods for decaffeinating coffee are complicated, and they involve chemical reactions which can mess with coffee's flavor. A common, direct way to decaffeinate coffee involves soaking the beans in chemicals like ethyl acetate or methylene chloride. A more indirect method involves adding the chemicals to water in which the coffee beans are soaked. These chemicals can strip away some of the more fragrant elements of the coffee beans, which in turn affect the final flavor — after all, a lot of a food's flavor comes from its smell. Sometimes, it's possible that the change is so mild that it's your brain telling you the decaf version tastes more different than it truly does. However, the general consensus is that decaf coffee has a less strong, less full-bodied taste more often than not.

The situation with soda is different for a couple of reasons. Modern Coca-Cola, for example, is entirely artificially flavored and it doesn't use any natural caffeine from kola nuts, although its full formula is secret. Instead, it seems to use synthetic caffeine just like plenty of its competitors. The Coca-Cola Company does sell a caffeine-free version of its famous soft drink, but if the caffeine is added separately, it's likely that there's no decaffeination process involved to alter the flavor further. Some might agree that caffeine-free Coke does taste slightly sweeter than regular Coke as a result, although the difference is subtle and still a topic of debate.