The Myth About Mold in Coffee
Coffee processing takes multiple steps, so there is a possibility for impurities within each batch. Mold is one of the most commonly discussed pollutants found in coffee. There are a lot of unanswered questions and inaccurate information surrounding this subject. So, we are taking a look at the reality of mold in coffee and dispelling the mystery of it all.
What Are Mycotoxins?
Often, the presence of mold or fungi can lead to contaminants called mycotoxins. You may be asking what exactly are mycotoxins? They are toxins that naturally develop from mold or fungus in humid or warm conditions on grains and various foods. They may be more familiar than you think.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified various forms of these toxins, including Aflatoxin, Ochratoxin A., and Patulin. Each type of mycotoxin has a different level of severity, origin, and contamination level.
Sometimes, mold grows because of the climate the coffee is in. Sometimes, it's from poor storing methods. Other times, it's caused by the decay of the food or coffee.
In small quantities, these toxins are not entirely harmful. But if you continuously consume them, you can get sick. However, these toxins rarely cause severe, long term health issues.
In the unlikely case that you do consume enough toxins to experience symptoms, you may have:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Stomach aches
In extreme cases caused by ingesting an intolerable level of toxins, you may experience liver damage.
To avoid any health issues, there is a maximum level of mycotoxins allowed in coffee. This protects people from the risk of consuming a harmful amount of contaminants.
Recently, mold in coffee has been a hot topic, and mycotoxins have become a buzzword. That's why we wanted to take a moment to address any potential risks (and myths) associated with green coffee. Because, if you source your green coffee with care from farms who use proper techniques, there is a very low chance of mycotoxins at all.
How Does Mold Get in Coffee?
If not done properly, there is a potential for mold growth at any step in the coffee process. The main risk for coffee mold comes from increased humidity and incomplete dryness. But mold growth can also stem from a lack of airflow in humid spaces.
When the coffee is initially being harvested, getting rid of the outer layer requires copious amounts of water. This is why farms have implemented different processing methods.
Wet processing gets rid of mycotoxins the best. Other processing methods do this well, too. After processing, most beans are placed in burlap bags for transport. Even though burlap bags can produce mold, at this point, the coffee is too dense for the mold to grow.
If there is mold on your coffee, roasting will quickly kill it. But it's important to make sure everything is working properly and cleaned well. If there's a chaff build up that blocks the airflow, this may cause a humid, hot environment that would further any mold growth.
How you store your coffee is also important. We pulled together a guide on the best ways to store your coffee beans to ensure lasting flavor and quality to help you get started.
This is a lot of information all at once. But you're not alone in trying to find mold free coffee. We do the important work of finding the best farms to partner with, sourcing the highest quality green coffee beans. Before the green coffee ever makes it onto our website, we check it out, roast it, and cup it. There's quality control on both ends - from the farms to our warehouse.
Our customers are important to us, so we only source the best. And we make sure it's the best.
One other item to note, we only sell specialty grade coffee. The humidity content in specialty coffee is kept at 12% or less, rendering it mold free. On top of this, specialty coffee is cleaner for us to consume and for the environment it grows in.
Farmers take great care in how they grow the beans, harvesting techniques they use, and processing methods. All the extra time and care they put in ensure the green coffee beans are mold free before transport. The low moisture content in the beans reduces any risks of mold growth during transport. And we check all coffee once it reaches our warehouse to ascertain if it's too our standards.
How to Tell if Your Coffee Contains Mold
Coffee mold is harder to identify than other food molds. Most likely, you won't be able to identify the mold through taste. But you can see it in ground coffee. It will look like white powder amongst the grounds and will give off a musty odor.
The best way to ensure you are drinking clean coffee is by the brands you drink. If the company doesn't provide a clear description of their quality control standards, reach out to their customer service. Ask questions and see how they answer them. If the brand doesn't meet your standards, then reach out to another one.
You can also check to see if they provide specialty coffee. As mentioned earlier, specialty coffee is more trustworthy because of its strict standards.
Another thing to pay attention to is the cupping score of your brew. A higher cupping score, speciality being above 80, is more pure and has a better chance of being mold free. By choosing higher altitude, hand processed or handpicked coffees, you are reducing your risk of mycotoxins.
Conclusion
When you buy green coffee from a company that sources high quality coffee, the risk of mycotoxins is incredibly small. There are regulations in place to reduce the chance of mold in coffee, but it's important that both the coffee farm and the coffee company take the risks seriously. This will ensure they have quality control steps in place to keep your coffee safe. Now, we hope you can drink your coffee with more peace of mind, fully understanding what mold in coffee really means.