Tea decaffeination by ethyl acetate process

Decaffeination of tea is desirable to regulate caffeine intake. Decaffeinated tea is produced by removing 60% to 90% of the caffeine from black tea by solvent extraction.

The most common decaffeinating solvent is ethyl acetate.  Ethyl acetate is derived as a result of the reaction between ethanol and acetic acid.

This process considered a natural method because the compound occurs naturally in fruits, vegetables and other plants, tea leaves are bathed in water, washed with ethyl acetate to remove the caffeine and then dried.  This process leaves a maximum carrier residue of 1 ppm or less, and a maximum caffeine residue of .08 percent, dry weight.

The tea is 99.9 percent decaffeinated at the end of the process, and has 8 percent maximum water content when leaving the factory. Decaffeinated Ceylon Black is processed in this manner.

Tea decaffeinated using ethyl acetate loses up to two-thirds of its flavonoids content. This process is less expensive and some people detect a slight aftertaste.
Tea decaffeination by ethyl acetate process