I see no-one else reads the Guardian...

[maurice]

...otherwise someone would have posted this, from today's paper!
 
"Scientists discover decaf coffee bean

Colin Blackstock
Thursday June 24, 2004
The Guardian

It's the news coffee-loving insomniacs the world over have been waiting for - scientists have discovered a naturally caffeine-free coffee plant.

A cup of decaf could soon taste as good as caffeinated thanks to an Ethiopian variety of Coffea arabica, which provides high-quality coffee for about 70% of the world market.

Scientists hope that by crossing the caffeine-free variety with commercial crops they can make natural brands that could be available in five years.

Decaffeinated coffee is made from normal coffee and accounts for about 10% of the world market, but it is expensive to manufacture. It tastes different from normal coffee because solvents used to extract the caffeine also remove some of the compounds that give coffee its flavour.

The new coffee was identified during a genetic breeding programme aimed at reducing levels of caffeine.

Researchers in Brazil studied 3,000 coffee plants from Ethiopia, and found three that had almost no caffeine. The plants, labelled AC1, AC2 and AC3, appear to lack an enzyme needed to make caffeine.

Writing in the journal Nature, the researchers, led by Paulo Mazzafera, from the University of Campinas, said the quality of the natural decaf had not yet been tested.

But they added: "Given that C arabica has a narrow genetic diversity and that even accessions from Ethiopia and Arabia (now Yemen), as well as old varieties, all produce high-quality coffee, it is likely that AC plants will produce a good beverage."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0, ... 14,00.html

[phil]

As a fellow Guardian reader I feel I should say that this was also posted on the Sweet Maria's list.

But:

Decaf! Wash your mouth out!

[Steve]

it was also in the times

[maurice]

Thank you fellow Guardian reader (& fellow Times reader)

I was thinking there must be a use for a good testing Decaf but, now that you mention it Phil, I can't quite think what it would be....

[Raf]

Personally, I would love caffeine free arabica: I could drink espresso all day long! And at night! If they can cross it with origin coffees, that would be marvellous. I won't hesitate to buy a second MM then...

[ianboughton]

Yes, it's had a lot of coverage all over the world's press - we tend to monitor them all for our magazine.

With regard to decaf, I was rather surprised to be served recently, in Central America, an absolutely superb Illy decaf espresso. I didn't know it existed.

-IanB

[Steve]

err illy and decaf (eeffoc thinks of hell and wonders if it would be served there, surely the devil isnt that evil )