Decaffeination is often associated with less flavorful coffee because it is a bit tricky to remove only the caffeine and not any of the numerous flavor chemicals, and decaffeinated beans are notoriously difficult to roast properly.

The most-common methods of decaffeination involve chemical solvents, usually ethyl acetate or methylene chloride. In the direct method, the coffee beans are steamed and then rinsed repeatedly with the chemical solvent to flush away the caffeine.