Is there harmful stuff in decaf coffee?

[Daph81]

As far as I know, the caffeine is the thing that makes you not supposed to drink to much coffee.

But if you drink too much decaf coffee, is it bad for you?

[samhradh_leannan]

If it's just normal plain coffee (no weird additives), then the caffeine is the main thing that's bad for you. But it's also really acidic, and can be hard on the digestive system. And decaf coffee does still have caffeine in it, just not as much.

There are many herbal coffee alternatives that are non-acidic and totally caffeine free out there. I can't have any caffeine at all, so I drink them. My favorite brand so far is called Teeccino.

[lananoel]

There really is no such thing as decaf coffee. My doctor explained to me that they are coffee beans soaked in water to lessen the intensity of the caffeine. So I would say if you drink too much it would still be bad for you.

[Red_Arrow]

The international standard for claiming to be decaf is to have 97% of the caffeine in the beans removed. One would have to drink a hell of a lot of coffee to overcome the 97%.

[samhradh_leannan]

I'm not sure how accurate that is. Decaf coffee has a lot less, but I don't know if it really goes down to 3%. Regardless, the amount of caffeine in decaf coffee can still be harmful if you're sensitive to it. My doctor tells me not to have any caffeine, even what's present in decaf coffee.

[meowcow]

Decaf coffee is the same as regular coffee. The beans are pre-treated with an organic solvent to remove the caffeine. That is all.

[kheserthorpe]

How much coffee do you drink?

[Daph81]

1 or 2 cups of regular coffee a day, and probably about 3-5 cups of decaf throughout the day.