Oily Decafe Beans?

[Richard Kilgore]

The regular coffe beans I get from my local purveyor are fine, but the decafe beans are always a little oily, though supposedly roasted only to full city. When asked, they said something about the decafe process making them oily.

These are not aging beans. I am always able to get them within three days of roasting.

Is there a decafe process that causes the oiliness? An alternative process that does not? Is there an internet supplier that carries decafe beans that do not get oily?

[weinoo]

All decaf beans that I've ever seen seem to roast up darker/oiler than those that have not undergone any decaf process.

[Beto]

The only decaf that I roast is processed by the Swiss Water method, and the surface of the bean is always darker and more oily than its full-caff counterpart. If you take a knife and slice one of beans in half, you might find that the inside is lighter in color than the surface.

I really don't know what it is about the decaf process that causes the darkening and oiliness, but the beans are exposed to temperatures in excess of 175 deg, which to my mind, has to somewhat "cook" the coffee.