Coffee is one of the world’s favorite beverages, yet many coffee drinkers are seeking to reduce caffeine intake or its potential side effects such as high blood pressure or sleep disruptions. Some even switch to decaff in order to reap more of its antioxidants which may boost brain and cardiovascular health benefits. So is decaf coffee healthy? That depends on its production method.

Coffee decaffeination has generated much debate, with certain groups asking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to outlaw certain methods as they use solvent chemicals linked to cancer, including methylene chloride (commonly used as paint stripper or nail polish remover). As yet, the FDA has taken no action on this matter but is currently assessing risks – an issue particularly concerning for pregnant women or those needing to limit caffeine intake for health reasons; but in reality the amount present in a cup of decaf is much lower than what would be considered dangerous.

Decaffeination involves boiling beans before soaking them in chemicals such as ethyl acetate or methylene chloride that bind to caffeine in them, then extract it through extraction processes such as rinse and dry cycles. Finally, any solvent is evaporated away and caffeine-free beans can be roasted as is usually done to create decaf coffee. This method is currently the most commonly used to make decaf coffee.

Decaf coffee may actually help ease caffeine withdrawal symptoms. According to one recent study, drinking decaf that tasted similar enough to regular coffee helped lessen withdrawal symptoms 24 hours post-decaffeinated cup consumed; researchers think this might be because people believe they’re drinking something they usually would and thus don’t experience the unpleasantness they usually do when trying caffeine-containing coffees for the first time.

While decaff may not provide as many health benefits, it still offers people who enjoy coffee the option to keep drinking it without the caffeine buzz. A 2022 study demonstrated that those who consumed two to three cups of instant or ground coffee each day reduced their risk for arrhythmias – when heartbeat becomes irregular – by up to 33%, likely because caffeine blocks the receptors for adenosine which causes such problems.

Concerned about how decaff is made? There are ways you can identify which brands use solvents. The Clean Label Project, a non-profit that evaluates consumer products for environmental and industrial contaminants, provides a free tool called Check Your Decaff to make this possible. Enter any brand of your choosing into it to see if they employ a solvent method; alternatively look out for terms like “solvent free,” Swiss Water processed or certified organic as indicators that won’t contain methylene chloride in their production process.