A Great (Decaf) Coffee
Posted: 07/07/2010 Filed under: Food + Drink, Health, Motherhood, Photography | Tags: 200 mg, caffeine, caffeine-free, coffee, cold water process, decaf, decaffeinated, fair trade, Fair Trade Organic French Roast, French roast, organic, pregnancy, recommendation, trader joe's Leave a comment »
Folks abstain from caffeine for all sorts of reasons: to reduce anxiety, to sleep better. And for pregnancy, of course! (The current recommendation is that pregnant women, particularly those in their first trimesters, consume not more than 200 mg caffeine per day — about the amount in a 12 oz. cup of coffee. Or in about 9.5 oz. of dark chocolate!)
A whole world of delicious, naturally caffeine-free beverages exists, and I am a very big fan. But some days, even we abstainers crave a hot coffee or — on a sweltering summer afternoon — a tall iced latte. The answer to our longings: decaf!
I will admit, decaf done badly can be horrible. But if done well, it can be wonderful. If you are lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe’s, you can enjoy this, my current favorite: Trader Joe’s Fair Trade Organic French Roast Decaf. It’s all the good things its name indicates. Plus, it’s reasonably priced and is decaffeinated via a cold water process (like this) rather than with chemical solvents like methylene chloride or ethyl acetate (the chemicals used to remove the caffeine from a majority of other decaf coffees and black teas).
It is good stuff! And at 2-6 mg caffeine per cup, it can be enjoyed with sighs of contentment and without guilt or worry (or sleepless nights)!
