Skip to content
Decaf Atlas

Water process · CA

Swiss Water Process

A water-only process run at a single plant in British Columbia, using coffee extract already saturated with everything except caffeine. The best known name in decaf, and the most misunderstood — it is a company guarantee, not a certification.

Also sold as: Swiss Water · SWP · water process decaf. Same process.

Solvent
None
Caffeine removed
99.9% (supplier guarantee)
Trademarked name
Yes — Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Inc.
Where it runs
Swiss Water, CA

What the label claims

Claims seen on real bags and roaster copy, and how each one holds up

  • “Chemical free”

    Misleading

    It uses no added solvent, so it is solvent-free in the sense people mean. But water is a chemical, and "chemical free" is marketing language rather than a technical claim.

  • “99.9% caffeine free”

    Holds up

    Accurate as a supplier guarantee, and Swiss Water state it in their own words. Just be clear what kind of claim it is — a company standing behind its process, not an independent certification.

  • “Certified organic”

    Holds up

    Because no extraction solvent is involved, the process retains organic certification.

Green beans are hydrated so the cell structure swells and opens, then circulated in Green Coffee Extract — water that has already been saturated with every water-soluble compound in coffee except caffeine. Because the extract has no room left for anything else, only caffeine follows the concentration gradient out of the bean; the sugars, acids and aromatic precursors have nowhere to go.

The caffeine-loaded extract is then passed through activated carbon that traps caffeine specifically, and the regenerated extract goes onto the next batch. The cycle runs about eight to ten hours.

What the 99.9% claim actually means

Swiss Water state, in their own words, that they guarantee any decaffeinated green coffee coming out of the process is 99.9% caffeine free. That is a supplier guarantee attached to their process — not a threshold set by a certification body, and not a number that transfers to other processes.

This matters because the figure has escaped. It turns up on Mountain Water bags and in roaster copy for processes that make no such claim. If you see 99.9% next to a process that is not Swiss Water, check where it came from.

Taste

Trade consensus is that Swiss Water has the least impact on origin character. Sweet Maria’s put it as “we think the Swiss Water process has the least impact on original flavor”. That is consensus rather than published finding — no head-to-head sensory comparison has been run.

Regulatory status

Non-solvent, so it falls outside the residue limits in Directive 2009/32/EC entirely, and it retains organic certification. Worth being precise: falling outside a solvent regulation is an exemption, not an endorsement by it.

Residual note

The 99.9% figure is Swiss Water's own guarantee about its own process. It is not a threshold set by a certification body and it does not transfer to other water processes.

On the solvent

Water, green coffee extract and activated carbon. No extraction solvent, which places it outside Directive 2009/32/EC entirely.

In the cup

Trade consensus, not laboratory finding, is that it has the least impact on origin character. Typically clean, chocolate and caramel leaning, with some loss of the most volatile aromatics.

Stated as a tendency, not a rule. No published head-to-head sensory comparison of the processes exists, so this is trade consensus plus tasting — and the green coffee and roast matter more than the process.

Questions

Is Swiss Water decaf chemical-free?
It uses no added solvent — only water, green coffee extract and activated carbon — so it is solvent-free in the sense people usually mean. "Chemical free" is marketing language rather than a technical claim; water is a chemical.
Where does Swiss Water decaf come from?
One facility in Delta, British Columbia, operating since 1988. Every bag labelled Swiss Water has passed through it, which is worth knowing if you think about freight miles.
Does Swiss Water remove all the caffeine?
No. Swiss Water guarantee 99.9% caffeine-free green coffee out of the process, which still leaves a measurable amount in the cup — typically a few milligrams.

Sources

  • Swiss Water — decaffeination process and caffeine content

    Industry · Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Inc., 2026

    Does not say The 99.9% figure is not a certification-body threshold and does not transfer to other water processes. Mountain Water is frequently quoted at 99.9% on the strength of this number; Descamex themselves claim above 97%.

  • Directive 2009/32/EC on extraction solvents used in foodstuffs

    Regulation · European Parliament and Council, 2009

    Does not say It does not certify any process. Swiss Water and Mountain Water fall outside it entirely because they use no extraction solvent — that is an exemption, not an endorsement.

Who sells Swiss Water decaf

Related updates

  • Correction: the 99.9% figure on Mountain Water bags is not Descamex's

    The widely repeated "99.9% caffeine free" claim for Mountain Water Process comes from roasters and importers, not from the plant. Descamex's own site says decaffeination exceeding 97%. The number appears to have migrated across from Swiss Water's separate guarantee about a different process.