Different ways to extract coconut oil ?

Virgin Coconut Oil in its natural state has a mild aroma, delicate taste, and silky thin consistency. There are many ways to extract the oil from coconuts—some use heat, while others are cold-processed. When coconut meat or milk is significantly heated at any point during the extraction process, it results in a stronger flavor and aroma, which does not exist in fresh coconut meat.

In the early years of coconut oil production, the coconut aroma was commonly associated as natural to the coconut. This is mainly because the first products of coconut involved significant heating, and thus the existence of this aroma. With the advent of superior quality Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO), like centrifuged Virgin Coconut Oil, the strong coconut aroma is now starting to be recognized as a contamination of the oil due to excessive heating during processing.

So, what is the difference between Centrifuge (Cold-Processed) and Expeller (Cold-Pressed) methods?

In the Centrifuge method, the coconut meat is finely spun, and the milk and oil separate, much like how cream separates from dairy milk. It requires several passes through the centrifuge to obtain pure oil. The temperature during the entire process is monitored to stay under 38°C. Centrifuge-extracted oil has a mild aroma and delicate taste, due to the absence of significant heat in the extraction process.

In the Cold-Pressed method, ground coconut meat is passed through a hot-air dryer before being pressed. The dryer may heat the coconut up to 80°C. The term “Cold-Pressed” is used to differentiate the final pressing method at around 48°C, from the previously used “Hot-Pressed” method, which heated the coconut to more than 100°C. Cold-Pressed Expeller-extracted oil has a stronger coconut aroma and taste, due to the presence of significant heat in the extraction process.