Video: If you’ve ever wondered how it’s possible to make decaf coffee — which you can buy in whole-bean form — when the caffeine is inside the damn bean, then you’re not alone. Fortunately, there is an answer, and it’s in this video.
In the first of what promises to be a wonderful new series, Mental Floss discusses decaf. First, it’s worth noting that very little decaf coffee is truly stimulant-free: most cups will still have a few milligrams of it lurking in the cup. But in terms of getting it out? That’s a job for solvents — originally benzene and then later, more safely, carbon dioxide. If you don’t like the sound of that then, huh, why not, say, just drink a proper cup of coffee? [Mental Floss]