The Myth About Mold in Coffee
Coffee goes through a long journey before it reaches your roaster, from harvesting and processing to drying, shipping and storage. One common concern with buying unroasted coffee is the question; ‘can coffee grow mold’?
There is a lot of misinformation about mold in coffee, as the issue has become a buzzworthy topic. We are going to take a closer look at the facts, what is real, what is exaggerated, and how you can roast green coffee beans at home with confidence.
The short answer? Yes- mold in coffee can occur. However, if coffee is sourced, processed, and handled correctly, the risk is extremely low.
Now let’s get into the science that leads to this conclusion.
What Are Mycotoxins?
When people ask if coffee has mold, what they are often really asking about are mycotoxins.
Mycotoxins are naturally occurring compounds produced by certain types of mold and fungus in humid or warm conditions. This is more common in agricultural products like grains and other various foods.
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.
These compounds are monitored on a global scale, and there are strict safety standards in place to limit our exposure.
An important note for this conversation is that mycotoxins are not unique to coffee, and can appear in many everyday foods. In very small amounts, they are generally not harmful to the human body.
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. However, that level of toxins would go far beyond what regulated food systems allow.
How Does Mold Get in Coffee?
To best understand mold in coffee beans, it helps to look at where risk can enter the process.
Mold growth is usually linked to moisture and a lack of airflow. This means that coffee is most vulnerable when water is involved.
During processing, the outer layers of the coffee cherry are removed. In processes like wet (or washed) processing, water is heavily used. When done properly, this method is very effective at reducing contaminants, including potential mold-related organisms.
This is because after processing, coffee beans are thoroughly dried. Well-run coffee farms carefully control their drying times, moisture levels and the airflow during storage, to ensure that by the time the coffee is ready to be packed and exported, the moisture level is minimal.
Can Coffee Grow Mold During Shipping or Storage?
After processing, most beans are placed in breathable materials like burlap bags for transport. While burlap itself can hold moisture in certain humid environments, properly dried coffee beans are dense and stable enough that mold growth will be unlikely.
The bigger risk comes from improper storage after the beans have arrived at their destination. If your green coffee is being stored in a high humidity, warm, poorly ventilated space, overtime there could be a risk for mold growth.
This also means that once you receive your green coffee beans, you should ensure you are storing them in a cool, dry environment for quality and safety.
But What if there Was Mold in My Coffee?
First let’s note again, high-quality green coffee beans are rarely contaminated with unacceptable amounts of mycotoxins.
However, 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.
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 Know if Your Coffee is Mold Free
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, specialty 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.