Reaching that Equilbrium in Coffee… and in Life

It has been a fun summer of blog posts where I reflect upon life through the scope of popular media and celebrity gossip.  However, this past week, my professor Paul Hatala assigned research into decaffeination, and this allowed me to think about how this relates to life as a whole and media at a large.

Decaf is trendy, it's in. http://www.fitsugar.com/1131487

It’s enlightening how the popularity of these drinks have surged into popularity in recent culture.  Decaffeination is the removal of caffeine, the substance responsible for stimulation in the nervous system (Cyldesdale, 1999).  In fact, 12% of total coffee consumption is based on decaf coffee (Cyldesdale, 1999), a continuously increasing number, likely linked to celebrity and “healthy living” influences.  When paparazzi catch Paris Hilton with that cup of decaf in her hand, and Global News lambasts the effects of caffeine, a paradigm shift emerges as more viewers switch their source of intake.  This Dilbert Comic lambasts this emerging paradigm.  The underlying motive may be a sense of conformity, a sense of people to follow in the black and white sense, what they see as right instead of what is wrong.  This diffusion, separation, and transfer of ideas is also the fabric underlying decaffeination.  Before you get into the chemistry, here’s a quick video lambasting the hoopla of decaf coffee.

The principal “European” method is to use a solvent known as methylene chloride, CH₂Cl₂, which is sometimes criticized for being hazardous in large doses (Petrucci, 2007).  Coffee beans are treated with steam first to draw caffeine from the inner bean to the outer surface area, preparing the bean (Sturdivant, 1991).  The solvent may then be applied in a direct method, removing solutes from the beans including caffeine, which diffuses into the solute (Webber, 2008).  Batch processing can be used, where solvent is evaporated through distillation and re-added to a vessel (Cyldesdale, 1999).  This allows more extraction of caffeine until the solvents and beans reach equilibrium as the content of caffeine is so minimal in the beans, it will no longer diffuse out of the shell.  In an indirect process, first the water-soluble caffeine is soaked in water, where it is able to diffuse from the bean into this water (Webber, 2008).  The water is then treated by the methylene chloride, which then allows the caffeine solutes to be transferred this solvent, and the treated water is then forced back through some tube mechanism to return flavours and oils, and then the process is repeated several times like the previous method until caffeine is minimal (Cyldesdale, 1999).  The repetition is required as each stage attains a constant equilibrium, and with La Chatelier’s Principle, by removing the product (removing caffeine through the solvent), the system is shifted to the right (more caffeine is dissolved in water).   The methylene chloride acts a selective solvent, only having reactions with the caffeine molecules, not the flavours or oils (Sturdivant, 1991).  However, another method does not use this selective solvent.

A simplified model of water-processing for decaffeination. (Norr, 2008).

The second method, touted to be the measure of the future, is the Swiss Water Method.  This method uses hot water and steam instead of chemicals (Norr, 2008).  The beans absorb water, opens the cellular structures of the beans, and the caffeine and flavour molecules dissolve to the water (Webber, 2008).  This water is then filtered through charcoal or carbon filters, where the caffeine molecules are trapped, while the flavour molecules remain with the water (Norr, 2008).  The charcoal is pre-treated with sucrose, which helps absorb the caffeine (Cyldesdale, 1999).  This ‘flavour-water’ extract is added to new coffee-beans, extracting only caffeine (Norr, 2008).  This principle works because the solution is super-satured with flavour, and thus there is equilibrium between the flavour molecules, so solely caffeine will be extracted from the beans.  High temperatures (from 70-100°C) are used specifically to supplement this process to increase the kinetic energy of molecules and ability to diffuse.

But what does this all mean?  How does diffusion relate back to conformity:  This all comes back to the underlying principle of the masses.  Think of these caffeine solutes leaving their safe shell to experience new worlds.  They are being led into a new system by a strong solvent, beckoning to accept them.  As they experience a new world, they are essentially being tainted, leaving their original home permanently, the coffee bean.  The solutes WANT to diffuse, reach equilibrium, pass that concentration gradient.  People behave in a likewise manner, moving to areas where there is the freedom to explore, with ability to separate themselves from the sheep.  By simply obeying the laws of physics and chemistry, they follow the concentration gradient to spread from those similar.  But in the end, aren’t these people the sheep controlled by physical forces?  Try to imagine a utopian society where everyone shared the same belief, and these beliefs were perfect.  This can never happen on the basis of this ‘sociological diffusion.’  People wish to separate and form their unique niche in society.  Ideas, opinions, and everything diffuse.

It's easy to understand why people diffuse to popular culture. (Still from Transformers 2)

Yet, a gradient can only go in one direction or the other, a reaction can only go forwards or backwards.  Fundamental chemistry relies on dichotomies, and perhaps people are prone to view the world in a similar sense, choosing either decaf or caffeinated coffee.  But whereas decaffeination aims for that homogeneity, diffusion in life relies upon heterogeneity.  What I mean by this is that decaffeination presents only one path, only giving the option to stay or not to stay, where an equilibrium appears.  However in life, we have many solvents, many methods, a variety of journeys to embark upon, each leading us to unique ideas.  We should leave that shell to learn and explore, as our original home may restrict how we view the world.  But we should not function merely as chemical forces, following the solvent because the K_sp tells us to, or diffusive forces take us out.  Morals need to be maintained, judgement needs to be kept, and we must incorporate our biological thought before taking that step to follow.  Equilibrium in life must be achieved!

For me, this equilibrium may be to continue this hobby amidst the stresses of university.  I think it’s time for me to be that 2-4% of caffeine remaining in the decaf coffee, re-evaluating my shell and re-evaluating me in this Christmas break.  And this blog will be the perfect outlet for this introspection.

Peace and Love!!

Works Cited

Cyldesdale, F. (1999, October 21). How is caffeine removed to produce decaffeinated coffee? Scientific American . Retrieved from: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-is-caffeine-removed-t

Norr, S. (2008, July). Where does the Caffeine Go? Tea and Coffee.  Retrieved from: http://www.teaandcoffee.net/0708/feature.htm.

Petrucci, R. (2007). General Chemistry Principles & Modern Applications 9th Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Sturdivant, S. (1991, February 1). Methylene chloride decaffeination: bad process or bad press. Tea & coffee Trade Journal . Retrieved from http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing/food-manufacturing-food-coffee-tea/154175-1.html

Webber, R. (2008, September 25). How Do They Remove the Caffeine from Coffee. CHOW Food Media, CBS.  Retrieved from http://www.chow.com/stories/11330