Scientists Work Towards Naturally Caffeine-Free Coffee 312
First time accepted submitter eternaldoctorwho writes "Research has been underway to produce a coffee bean plant that naturally has no or little caffeine content. Now, it looks like that might become a reality in the near future: Paulo Mazzafera of the University of Campinas in Brazil has come closer than ever with a strain containing 'only 2% of normal caffeine levels.' Coffee, anyone?"
Caffeine-free coffee (Score:5, Insightful)
It's like a car without wheels or a computer without a CPU.
Re:Caffeine-free coffee (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Caffeine-free coffee (Score:5, Insightful)
STOP THESE PEOPLE!
Decaffeinated, Sugar Free, Low Fat Guardians to the GAtes of Hell!
Those things are not a problem.
Re:Caffeine-free coffee (Score:5, Insightful)
I've heard of others like myself, though I doubt we're a particularly large portion of the population, so we are probably not a major reason for this research. Still, why are you so against people having a less processed low-caffeine option? And how is railing against such a possibility with zero facts or specific arguments in any way insightful?
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Personally, I would love to have non-processed coffee after dinner and not be up the rest of the night.
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Re:Caffeine-free coffee (Score:4, Insightful)
I would love such a drink. I'm extremely sensitive to caffeine, but I enjoy coffee quite a bit. In fact, the stuff is more likely to put me to sleep than keep me awake, so I tend to enjoy coffee after some dinners rather than early or during the day. Occasionally I have a cup of decaf during the day. If this coffee becomes available I'd drink it much more frequently than I drink coffee now. I've heard of others like myself, though I doubt we're a particularly large portion of the population, so we are probably not a major reason for this research. Still, why are you so against people having a less processed low-caffeine option? And how is railing against such a possibility with zero facts or specific arguments in any way insightful?
You might have ADHD, caffeine has been shown to treat the effects of ADHD, many people with ADHD claim that drinking coffee before bead calms them down and they fall asleep much easier.
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In the process of making decaf coffee, they produce raw caffeine, which they can then add to soft drinks, and stay-awake pills.
Your Mountain Dew comes as a direct result of my decaf coffee!
This new variant will reduce the amount of raw caffeine available, or they will have to start growing crops just for the caffeine content, but it doesn't make sense to do this at all, when they could just keep making decaf coffee.
Also, caffeine is an insecticide. These uncaffeinated coffee plants will be more susceptible
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Hmm. Wonder if they'll ever do something about the pain diabetic peoples' pancreas are in.
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SPA FON!
SQUA TRONT!!!
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I wonder if Starbucks has statistics about the consumption of decaf?
I would expect so since some time ago they stopped brewing pots of decaf coffee after noon local time. I would hole that this decision was based on some hard data. It didn't make sense to me though. I prefer decaf later in the day so I can hopefully get to sleep at night.
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If you don't care about the taste, why not try sleeping?
Because not all of us have jobs where we're allowed to come to work late because we are "sleepy" (wait 'till you have kids - going to bed early doesn't guarantee a good night's sleep), and many of us have found that executives don't like it when we fall asleep in their early morning meetings... plus some of us have jobs were occasional late-night work is neccessary to do system maintenance - give me a cup of coffee in the late afternoon and I'm good to go 'till 2am.
I'm definitely one of those that doesn't d
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I drink coffee all day long because I have found that not only do executives not like it when we fall asleep in thier early morning meetings, they don't like it in the late afternoon meetings either... or any other meetings as far as I can tell.
That's why you need to have a desk bed.
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Exactly right. Not by coincidence, I have 17lbs of various single-source green decafs coming on Friday. The beans run about $7/lb, and that's for the more expensive beans that aren't decaffeinated with methylene chloride.
I wind up figuring out a blend that's as good as the $32/lb fancy decaf from Italy.
My 'fancy' coffee roasting gear consists of a dutch oven on a gas grill.
Re:Caffeine-free coffee (Score:5, Funny)
It's like taking the cocaine out of Coca-Cola.
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It's like a car without wheels or a computer without a CPU.
Yeah, this was also my first reaction.
But some people (like me) have trouble sleeping if they have coffee after 4-5 PM; so it would be nice to be able to have a real coffee (not a decaf) after dinner.
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So, you're saying you actually like the taste of coffee?
Like ? No, love !
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So, you're saying you actually like the taste of coffee?
Coffee made the European way tastes very nice to my palate.
Coffee made the American way, not so much. It is generally lighter roasted (first crack) and brewed much slower (slow-drip), which brings out a lot of acidity and caffeine. Add that Central American beans are generally higher in organic acids than African grown beans. So to compensate, it's often made much weaker, generally using about half the amount of coffee grounds.
And yes, coffee brewed the American way includes Starbucks - it's just stronge
Re:Caffeine-free coffee (Score:4, Informative)
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I think you missed the word "way".
Sure you can use the American way of making coffee in Europe too, or other ways to produce coffee that doesn't taste good. In England and Wales, for example, it's hard to find good coffee - it's certainly not the default.
And sure, Americans can import a fast-dripping coffee maker or brew in a kettle, with a higher amount of longer-roasted beans. Few will - they're accustomed to their coffee and the lower cost.
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That was my first thought. The only reasons I drink coffee is it makes my mind sharper, wakes me up in the morning, and I'm addicted to it. Without caffiene, coffee is worthless. I never could understand why anyone drank decaf.
Re:Caffeine-free coffee (Score:5, Funny)
Aye.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed,
The hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
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Agreed. What good is non-caffeine coffee? I know of no one who actually drinks coffee just for the taste of it...even gourmet and flavored coffees. Maybe de-caff coffee is for people who can't drink coffee (due to religion or medical reasons) but want to "fit in" to crowds that do break-room or hallway gossip...I'm conjecturing.
No one that drinks coffee for the taste drinks "flavored coffee". They'd rather drink coffee that was pooped out of a monkey than drink vanilla flavored coffee.
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Well, de-caf coffee is not entirely caffeine free, so if I were a religious zealot averse to caffeine, I'd avoid it. On that note, fruit is not alcohol free (nearly all fruit contains some natural fermentation) and fruit is almost essential for human survival without artificial supplements (for its vitamin C content ya scurvy dogs!), so I guess there is a fine line to be drawn...
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The idiots! What's next, a rose without a scent? Sex without babies? Hey, wait a second....
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How they currently make decaf [ineedcaffeine.com]
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That excludes flying cars, and flying cars would be AWESOME.
Not over my house.
Re:Caffeine-free coffee (Score:4, Funny)
Couldn't these scientists build better weapons or something else useful?
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Absolutely true.
If you worry about caffeine, then you have to avoid other vegetables that have small amounts of caffeine in them, but most of all you have to avoid Red Bull.
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Or orgasm-less sex
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I can understand Industrial hemp. I do not understand caffeine free coffee.
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Re:Caffeine-free coffee (Score:5, Funny)
Like my wife.
Sure, what's her facebook id?
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She an AI entity, you insensitive clod! :)
Blasphemy! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Blasphemy! (Score:4, Funny)
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Well there really are "sugar free energy drinks". Hilarity ensued when i saw the billboard a while ago. Don't remember the brand.
Most of them, it seems. Look at the ingredient list the next time, and you'll be surprised how many of them have sucralose (Splenda) as a sweetener.
I simply can't drink anything with Sucralose - the five minute aftertaste I get is frankly disgusting.
Is it too much to ask to get an energy drink with water, cane sugar, caffeine, nicotine, tauric acid and phosphoric acid - completely free of artificial sweeteners and vitamins?
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It is like a skier that doesn't like snow.
Like many semi-tropical regions, Florida is full of skiers that don't like snow. (I was 12 when I first heard of snow skiing. Before then, "skiing" meant what I now know to be "water skiing.")
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"Decaffinated coffee: It's just useless warm, brown water."
He even had a jingle created every time he mentioned it.
Decaffinated coffeeee--it's what they serve in Hell
Re:Blasphemy! (Score:5, Funny)
Decaffinated coffeeee--it's what they serve in Hell
A thief dies in a gun battle with police, and when he reaches hell, he's given a tour and told he has a choice of how he spends eternity.
The first place he is shown has a man with oozing sores all over hime, in agony.
The next one shown is a man chained to a wall.
The next room has a bunch of people up to their waists in raw sewage drinking coffee. The murderous thief says "I guess that's my choice." He's given a cup of coffee and wades into the cesspool.
The next thing he hears is "Ok everybody, coffee break's over. Go back to standing on your heads."
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IAWTC, but I'm laughing at all the people saying that the caffeine is the only reason to drink coffee. Some of us drink it black, and we like it that way!
I don't drink coffee all that much because I can't seem to develop a tolerance that lets me take more than 3-500 mg a day without getting really sick, but when I do it's definitely for the taste. I can get my caffeine in much more measured doses other ways, so when I drink coffee it's despite the caffeine. Decaf can go fuck itself until it tastes good thou
You RUINS IT! (Score:5, Funny)
Why? (Score:4, Insightful)
"Scientists Work Towards Naturally Caffeine-Free Coffee"
Why would anyone do such a thing?
Why, you ask? (Score:2)
I've been drinking coffee for 50 years. No grandchildren yet, and I intend to be around to watch them grow up.
Yeah, yeah -- not a reason most people on /. can identify with.
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I've been drinking coffee for 50 years. No grandchildren yet, and I intend to be around to watch them grow up.
Yeah, yeah -- not a reason most people on /. can identify with.
I on the other hand, intend to be awake *sip*.
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I've been drinking coffee for 50 years. No grandchildren yet, and I intend to be around to watch them grow up.
Then you should start drinking coffee. It has a lot of health benefits, [harvard.edu] including warding off dementia and slowing the brain's aging process. Of course, if you have a medical condition that precludes it, you shouldn't drink it, but barring that, coffee is good for you.
Coffee = Caffein, Next: Bitter Sugar (Score:2)
We already have that, it's called E150 [wikipedia.org]
This Is Just Wrong (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This Is Just Wrong (Score:4, Funny)
No, only a faceless auditing committee
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Funny doesn't give karma, insightful does, many people will mod a funny post insightful or informative to give the poster karma.
Good lord! (Score:2)
Re:Good lord! (Score:4, Insightful)
In some countries beer is actually more than just carbonated piss.
Mart
What's next? (Score:4, Insightful)
I wonder what other abominations they'll come up with next...
Non-alcoholic beer?
Sugar-free candy?
Fat-free milk?
Oh, wait...
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A nice cup of non-caffeinated coffee with non-nutritive sweetener and non-dairy creamer.
It's like a little tempestuous cup of paradoxes.
like novacaine before sex (Score:2)
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What is this "the point" you speak of? Dude - just give it to marketing. The market droids can sell shit sandwiches without any bread, and the consumers go crazy over it. We don't CARE what use it may or may not be - we just want it on the market!
Effort (Score:2)
What a wasted life!
Heretics! (Score:4, Funny)
We have to stop science!!
Where will soda get its kick? (Score:2)
in other news... (Score:5, Funny)
I think I've heard about this before... (Score:4, Insightful)
The new strain invariably produces something that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike coffee.
What's the point? (Score:2)
And too my knowledge, there's 2 (main ones, I guess a third is some people legitimately enjoy it) reasons to drink coffee:
1. For the caffeine, because ya know, they need the energy. Or
2. Because it's socially acceptable, to fit in and what not. My coworkers all think I'm weird because if I need the caffeine in the morning, I drink a coke.
Taking out 1 of the 2 reasons to drink
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How does flooding your boss with water help with the coffee?
I like coffee. I do put milk in it, because I like coffee with milk, but it brings out some of the flavors and subdues others. Today I had an espresso mocha, which I make with a cheapie machine for which I paid, I believe, $3. Even tastier. Still a coffee drink.
On the other hand, I'm a lot more sensitive to caffeine than I used to be. If I could buy coffee that was naturally about 1/4 or 1/3 as caffeinated as usual, I would consider that to be a go
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That's probably because according to Mayo Clinic [mayoclinic.com] at least, a 12oz bottle of coke has 30-35mg of caffeine, and a cup of brewed Starbucks coffee has 330mg. A cup of Starbucks decaf has 25mg, so you're essentially drinking slightly more than what regular coffee drinkers would consider decaf.
That said, coffee doesn't always taste like crap. I'm pretty picky myself and wouldn't touch the sludge you get at work or re
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Quality, well-made coffee is a completely different story. The current method of making decaf though completely alters and ruins the coffee taste. I'd kill for a decaf that actually tastes like, you know, coffee.
This :) I like coffee. "Folgers" doesn't count, though... it tastes terrible.
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(it's like saying canned ANYTHING is as good as its fresh counterpart)
Pickles or baked beans, anyone?
(I'd say surstrÃmming, but that's an acquired taste)
obligatory xkcd link (Score:3)
you know which one I mean, just imagine I put it here.
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you know which one I mean, just imagine I put it here.
I couldn't find your obvious xkcd link and there have been car analogies already, so how about a marginally related simpsons video clip [youtube.com].
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I actually didn't know which xkcd link.I was trying to make an odd twist that didn't come off. I'll console myself with the simpsons then :)
Going for the down mods (Score:2)
About time. The processes used to remove the unwanted chamicals from my coffee (caffeine, in particular) from my coffee so y'all can have the straight drug are nasty and degrade the fine flavor. Since caffeine does absolutely bupkis for me (aside from headaches when I go off of it) I don't see any point in consuming something that does no good and might, maybe, raise my blood pressure and screw with my sleep patterns. Waking up ready to go at 0300 is fine; I don't see any point in getting any less sleep.
Idiots (Score:2)
Pet rocks can be re-tasked to be a coffee subsitute as well. Like sucking on a rock
I've mostly given up coffee (Score:4, Informative)
I used to love the stuff, 2 a day on most work days. I stopped cold turkey at the start of February, giving in to a quarter cup after 3 weeks after a big breakfast when up north. Had half Starbucks "short" this morning because I was just too damn tired.
I was partly inspired by this blog article [youarenotsosmart.com], partly by health concerns that had developed over the previous few months including a feeling of over-sensitivity to the caffeine, and partly just to see if I could do it.
After the first week of withdrawal symptoms, mostly slight headaches in the afternoon, I was pretty much operating as normal. I think it's good to force one's self out of a habit for a while.
Then they farm it... (Score:3)
If they farm it and it cross-contaminates the world coffee DNA, there will be an apocalyptic uprising of caffeine deprived people.
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If they farm it and it cross-contaminates the world coffee DNA, there will be an apocalyptic uprising of caffeine deprived people.
OMG! That's the most frightening thing I've read since "With Folded Hands"!
All those jokes (Score:2)
about the zombie apocalypse. And you laughted! Laughed, I say! Ha!!
You'll see! <laugh="evil">
What's the point? (Score:2)
Like booze without alcohol?
Wrong Direction (Score:5, Funny)
Almost twelve years ago, Slashdot posted an article about the caffeine gene in coffee plants being isolated [slashdot.org]. At that time, the Futurama references were fresh, but what we all wanted was caffeinated bacon (and baconated grapefruit). Or at least caffeinated apples. An apple with caffeine would solve 100% of the problems in my life. The future was promising. We all believed that genetic engineering would allow this gene to be spliced into other vegetables, animals, and yes, even minerals by now.
Now, over a decade later, the last great promise of the pre-9/11 world has been broken. We are using science not for good, but for evil. Our only hope is that the scientists committing this blasphemy drink their own creation and fall asleep before they can finish their work.
"Worst scientific breakthough EVER!" (Score:3)
- Jeff Albertson
Perfect for addicts (Score:2)
If you're like me, and love coffee, but hate the fact that your cat looks at you in disgust because you're awake too late at night, this is perfect. And before you say it doesn't affect you that way, try quitting it cold turkey. Just be prepared to hate everyone, and for everyone to hate you, for about two weeks.
Now I'll just get back to my heathen apostate business.....
Caffeine-free is better than decaffeinated (Score:2)
If the beans are grown to not have caffeine in them in the first place, hopefully the flavor is there to begin with, and with no decaffeination process necessary, there w
Indeed (Score:2)
Who drinks coffee for the taste?
Why??? (Score:2)
The problem I have with Coffee is the Coffee part :)
(yeah I'm one of the few programmers who does does not turn coffee into code.. I just crank out code.. No coffee nor caffeine! )
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You are obviously not Canadian. We can only get caffeine free Mountain Dew.
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Homeopathic vodka!
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No.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporomandibular_joint [wikipedia.org]