Developing naturally decaffeinated arabica coffee types has been a two-decade study at a Brazilian coffee research institute. The researchers believe this invention could have enormous commercial potential.
The programme is being created at the Instituto Agronomico de Campinas (IAC), a renowned coffee research facility that has given the world several high-yield coffee plants that have helped Brazil grow into a market leader, providing more than a third of the world's trade.
By combining various coffee plants that naturally contain very little caffeine, researchers at the IAC said they are beginning regional field trials of some of the types they have been breeding for several years. They are using the germplasm bank at their facilities.
If successful, the resulting variants may establish a market niche among consumers who would prefer them over current decaffeinated brands that are the result of industrial or chemical processes in major consumer markets like Europe and the United States.
Since they might avoid the industrial methods used to remove caffeine from ordinary coffee kinds, businesses who offer both decaffeinated and regular coffee may benefit from lower prices.
"The results we had so far look promising, we are upbeat," said Julio Cesar Mistro, a researcher overseeing the project at IAC.
Some of the center-developed clones are being planted in other parts of Brazil. There are still a few years before the researchers can harvest the coffee and test it because coffee bushes typically require two to three years to yield the first fruits.
According to data from the National Coffee Association (NCA), 10% of the market in the United States is made up of consumers of decaffeinated coffee.
Although many individuals drink coffee in order to benefit from the energy boost that caffeine provides, some are intolerant to it or prefer to consume "decaf" later in the day in order to prevent potential sleep problems.
(Source:www.ndtv.com)
The programme is being created at the Instituto Agronomico de Campinas (IAC), a renowned coffee research facility that has given the world several high-yield coffee plants that have helped Brazil grow into a market leader, providing more than a third of the world's trade.
By combining various coffee plants that naturally contain very little caffeine, researchers at the IAC said they are beginning regional field trials of some of the types they have been breeding for several years. They are using the germplasm bank at their facilities.
If successful, the resulting variants may establish a market niche among consumers who would prefer them over current decaffeinated brands that are the result of industrial or chemical processes in major consumer markets like Europe and the United States.
Since they might avoid the industrial methods used to remove caffeine from ordinary coffee kinds, businesses who offer both decaffeinated and regular coffee may benefit from lower prices.
"The results we had so far look promising, we are upbeat," said Julio Cesar Mistro, a researcher overseeing the project at IAC.
Some of the center-developed clones are being planted in other parts of Brazil. There are still a few years before the researchers can harvest the coffee and test it because coffee bushes typically require two to three years to yield the first fruits.
According to data from the National Coffee Association (NCA), 10% of the market in the United States is made up of consumers of decaffeinated coffee.
Although many individuals drink coffee in order to benefit from the energy boost that caffeine provides, some are intolerant to it or prefer to consume "decaf" later in the day in order to prevent potential sleep problems.
(Source:www.ndtv.com)
