What is Swiss Water decaf?
Swiss Water decaf is coffee decaffeinated by the Swiss Water Process, which uses no organic solvents: only water is used to take the caffeine out of the green beans, according to Wikipedia. The method was first developed in Switzerland in 1933, commercialized by Coffex S.A. in 1980, and introduced by The Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company of Burnaby, British Columbia, in 1988.
How the Swiss Water Process works
Like every decaf method, it works on green, unroasted coffee. The beans soak in green coffee extract: a solution of the water-soluble parts of green coffee with the caffeine filtered out through activated charcoal. The extract is lean in caffeine and the beans are rich in it, so caffeine migrates from the beans into the extract. Activated carbon filters then strip the caffeine from the extract again, and the process repeats, Wikipedia explains.
Wikipedia puts the processing time at 8 to 10 hours to reach the final residual caffeine target. After that the beans are dried and sold to roasters, who roast them like any other coffee.
The result has to meet the same bar as any decaf sold in the U.S.: at least 97% of the caffeine removed, under FDA standards. The National Coffee Association puts a cup of decaf at about 2 to 15 mg of caffeine per 8 ounces, against 95 mg for regular coffee.
What Swiss Water decaf tastes like
It tastes like the coffee it started as, roasted by whoever roasted it. The method is a step before roasting, so the origin, the processing and the roast level still decide most of the flavor. A light roasted Swiss Water decaf from Ethiopia and a dark roasted one from Sumatra will taste far apart. What the method changes is how the caffeine comes out: no solvent touches the beans.
Swiss Water vs other decaf methods
| Method | What takes the caffeine out | Solvent? |
|---|---|---|
| Swiss Water | Water and a caffeine-free green coffee extract, with carbon filters | No |
| Mountain Water | Water, by the name; we found no independent source for the details | Not stated |
| Sugarcane (EA) | Ethyl acetate | Yes |
| Methylene chloride | Dichloromethane | Yes |
| Supercritical CO2 | Carbon dioxide at 300 atmospheres and 65 °C (149 °F), per Wikipedia | No organic solvent |
Our glossary has short entries for Mountain Water, sugarcane process and CO2 process. For the full story from 1903 on, read how decaf coffee is made.
The Oregon angle: which methods the roasters we list name
When we checked on 2026-09-27, none of the Oregon roasters we list named Swiss Water on its own pages. They name other methods, or none. A listing does not mean a roaster is part of the club or in any box.
- Mountain Water: Case Study in Portland sells Decaf Mexico Cristal Select, Mountain Water Process, and Roseline describes its decaf subscription as mountain water processed.
- Water processed, brand not named: Noble in Ashland sells a Decaf Ethiopian Sidama and a Decaf World Tour espresso blend, and Water Avenue in Portland sells Velvet Falls. Both call their decafs water processed without saying which process.
- Sugarcane or EA: Sterling and Dapper & Wise sell sugarcane process decafs from Colombia, and Lone Pine in Bend lists its Decaf Colombia as Rainbow EA process.
- Method not stated: Coava, Heart, Nossa Familia, Sisters Coffee, Backporch, Thump, Trailhead, Wandering Goat, Caravan and Sleepy Monk all sell decaf without naming the method.
If Swiss Water matters to you, ask at the roaster's cafe. Being able to ask the people who roasted your coffee is one of the plain advantages of buying local. Why local roasters matter.
How to get decaf from the club
Choose decaf as the style in the plan builder, then set roast level and grind. Each box brings a 12 oz bag from a different independent Oregon roaster, $16.99 a bag, the same as any other roast. First bag free, you pay $7.99 shipping. You cannot pick the decaf method; it depends on that box's roaster, and the packing slip tells you about the coffee. The decaf subscription page has the details.
Related terms and sources
Related: decaf, Swiss Water Process, Mountain Water Process, sugarcane process, CO2 process, half-caff, green coffee.
- Wikipedia: Decaffeination (Swiss Water history and processing time, CO2 conditions, the U.S. 97% standard)
- National Coffee Association, About Coffee: Decaf coffee (green beans, caffeine per cup)
- Oregon decaf methods: each roaster's own pages, read 2026-09-27, as summarized on our roaster profiles.