That cup of coffee you drank this morning may have contained mold spores. Mold spores can settle and take root on the raw beans, either during the harvesting, fermentation, and drying processes or during transport and storage. 

And when those beans are ground up and used to make coffee beverages, the spores that survive the heat and pressure can wind up inside your body.

As always, when dealing with fungi, it’s not necessarily the mold itself that’s a problem. Instead, the danger comes from the mycotoxins that the mold spores produce. Mycotoxins can have a variety of nasty effects on the human body when they’re inhaled or consumed. Studies have revealed several types of mycotoxins present in 45% of coffees. Certain types of mycotoxins have been known to be present in coffee beans:

• Aflatoxin B1 – Linked to an increase risk of liver cancer.
• Fumonisin B1 – Linked to neurodegeneration (e.g., brain damage).
• Macrocyclic Trichothecenes – Linked to neurodegeneration and olfactory issues.
• Ochratochin A – Linked to dopamine depletion, which can in turn lead to depression symptoms and chronic fatigue. 

Did you know that ingesting coffee mold spores can trigger allergies too? That’s right, just one cup of moldy coffee can cause congestion, coughing, headaches, sneezing, and watery eyes. Even the sudden onset of flu-like symptoms and upper respiratory infections can stem from the consumption of moldy coffee. Gastrointestinal issues, such as bloating, diarrhea, loose stool, cramping, can all be signs of mold in coffee, as well.

So, what are the solutions?

Choose better coffee, a mold free coffee brand. Coffee raised and processed organically at high altitudes is more likely to be as close to mold free coffee as you’re going to get. This is because high altitudes produce drier climates. Mold has very little chance of taking root and growing in those conditions, even if the coffee bean is wet-processed (fermented). It’s not the ideal, but it’s an option. 

Mold free coffee brands I like and :

• Bulletproof Coffee
• Purity Coffee
• Kion Coffee
• KING by Organo

Coffee is still considered, by most doctors and medical professionals, to be perfectly safe for adults to drink on a daily basis. And if your liver is healthy and functioning properly, it shouldn’t have a problem removing trace amounts of mycotoxins from your system. 

However, if a person consumes large amounts of mycotoxin, e.g., via frequent consumption of heavily contaminated coffee, then they can start to experience serious health problems.

It’s also very important to clean out your coffee machine on a monthly bases. All the pod machines are harder to clean but it can be done. This can be a breeding ground as well for mold. 

Hope you learned something and enjoy your mold free cup of coffee!