Although the jury is still out on whether small amounts of caffeine impact the chance of getting pregnant, there is fairly consistent evidence of a higher risk of miscarriage with even fairly limited coffee consumption. This seems to apply to coffee consumption before pregnancy too.
How Much Caffeine is Too Much ?
We know that more than 300 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per day can significantly increase the risk of pregnancy loss, but the risk begins to creep up at around 50 to 150 mg per day. The amount of caffeine in a single cup of coffee varies widely, but is typically around 100 to 200 mg. (A Starbucks Tall brewed coffee has 260 mg of caffeine.)
Although there is little risk from the occasional small cup of coffee, decaf or half-caf is a better option if you are a daily coffee drinker.
Choosing the Best Decaf Coffee
Decaf has come a long way in recent years, with several high-end coffee roasters now offering good quality whole-bean decaffeinated coffee beans that tastes exactly like regular coffee.
When choosing a new decaf coffee, what should you look for? The conventional way of removing caffeine from coffee beans is to use chemical solvents (this is what Starbucks does). It is not clear that any harm comes from the infinitesimally small amount of solvent that may remain in the coffee, but if you have the option, it is even better to choose coffee that is decaffeinated by the Swiss Water Process.
What is the Swiss Water Process?
This method involves soaking the beans in hot water. The caffeine dissolves into the water, then the water is filtered to remove caffeine and is used to soak the next batch of beans- effectively giving back the flavor elements that may be lost from the water soaking process. This process is more expensive and harder to scale than other methods, but produces the best tasting coffee. It is therefore typically used with higher quality beans and by high-end coffee producers. There are now many excellent organic decaf coffees that are made using this process, including the recommended brands below:
Fertility-Friendly Coffee Brands (US)
No Fun Jo Decaf is made from organic and fair trade certified 100% Arabica beans. It is decaffeinated with the Swiss water process and the taste is indistinguishable from the best regular coffees (This is my personal favorite and has a lighter roast than the brands below.
2. Kicking Horse Coffee, Decaf, Swiss Water Process, Medium/Dark Roast, Whole Bean, 2.2
Kicking Horse Decaf is another certified organic and fair trade coffee, this time with a medium/dark roast. This is a popular brand, but the reviews are somewhat inconsistent, with occasional reports of bitter and oily batches.
3. Don Pablo Subtle Earth Organic Swiss Water Process Decaf
Although I haven’t tried it myself, Cafe Don Pablo is one of the most popular decaffeinated coffees and is often ranked as the best tasting. It is made from high quality Columbian coffee beans using an all natural Swiss water process.
4. (Available in UK) Grumpy Mule Sumatra Decaffeinated
Described as smooth, with a rounded chocolatey flavour to the coffee and good body. From organic coffee beans grown in Northern Sumatra.
Non-Toxic Coffee Brewing
Now that you have your beans, what is the best way to make your daily coffee without leaching chemicals from plastic parts in a standard coffee machine? I recommend a stainless-steel french press, like the one made by Secura.
I like Secura because it is plastic-free, unlike many others that have internal plastic parts. It also has insulated double-wall construction to keep coffee hot for much longer than a standard glass french-press. (Read the reviews on Amazon to see just how much everyone else loves this coffee maker too).
