Did you know that coffee is one of the most mold saturated sources on the food supply chain?
It's certainly not the first thing you think about in the morning when you're in a hurry and reach for your daily cup of joe.
The facts are there are high quality coffee beans and low quality coffee beans and it entirely depends on what region they were grown in and the way they were processed. A study found that 91.7% of green coffee beans (which is what they are before they're roasted) were contaminated with mold.
Another thing to clarify is the context of mold, I am more so referring to the mycotoxins which is mold's toxic byproduct. What makes these toxins such a problem is there is no way to break them down, they get absorbed and passed along down the food chain and this accumulation through ingestion is when it becomes a concern. The most common mycotoxins found in coffee is Ochratoxin A, Ochratoxin B, and Aflatoxin. Ochratoxin has been shown to be carcinogenic, give dopamine deficiency and also to cause kidney and liver damage in humans. Aflatoxin can cause kidney, heart and lung damage and is also classified by the WHO organization as a Class 1 carcinogen. Mycotoxins have such an effect on human health that they have actually been used in the making of biological warfare as well to immunosuppressive pharmaceutical drugs for organ receiving patients.
This is all bad news especially if you are a bad detoxer as certain gene variabilities dictate how well you expunge toxins daily. Toxins for some, can get stuck in your circulatory system and re-circulate wreaking havoc on your organs until you pro-actively detox. A genetics test can determine if you have the HLA-DR gene which would tell you if your a bad detoxer. But lets be clear, mycotoxins are not good for anyone, but for some far worse than others.
So which coffees are good and which are bad?
Steer away from decaf. One study found that decaf coffee contained six times the amount of toxins as regular coffee. This seems to come from the fact that caffeine itself has some anti-fungal properties. Arabica beans seem to be less moldy than robusta beans. Besides the beans themselves the way they are processed also carries a lot of weight. A natural processing method involves the beans being left outside for a long period of time and they collect mold, various debris and bird poop. A wet process involves them being dumped in a vat of water and being left to ferment and usually get even moldier.
Another way to lower your chances of getting a bad batch of low quality coffee beans is to not buy a "blend". The more countries these beans come from the more likely your chances of getting some beans that didn't perform a strict vetting process for their beans. The problem is lot of countries do perform testing, but the safety standards are different per country. For example the United States tests for more types of toxins, but with a lower range of whats accepted, and vice versa other countries like some European ones, have tighter standards of whats acceptable but then test for less types of toxins.
So what is the right choice to avoid bad quality coffee? The sweet spot is to find a company you trust, who explains their processes clearly, is transparent and is reputable. The top quality coffee vendors usually do third party testing to test for Mold, mycotoxins, and pesticides or chemicals.
The two coffee brands I really was amazed by is Purity coffee, and Bullet Proof coffee. They have a tight vetting process of their beans. They both perform third party testing for mold, chemicals and metals. One thing that I really love about Purity coffee, is they buy from high altitudes, and they roast their coffee beans in such a way as to not cook out anti-oxidants like cga. Purity also take it a step further by packing their coffee with nitrogen so it does not loose its beneficial anti-oxidant and oxidate.
If you decide that Purity coffee is for you, click on this link and use "PUREMOMMA10" for 10% off!