In the past few years, there has been a somewhat sudden rise in concern about mycotoxins: naturally occurring toxins that are produced by certain molds, and that can be found in food. Wellness influencers on social media and some health practitioners have raised the alarm, resulting in coffee brands touting “mold-free” coffee in an effort to reach an increasingly health-conscious audience. So what’s the deal—should you be worried about mold in your coffee?

Peruvian farmer Omer Hellera harvesting his coffee

The short answer: according to the FDA, about 25% of the worlds crops contain mycotoxins, and coffee is one of them; however, the majority of those crops do not have harmful levels. 

Coffee processing at origin necessarily involves fermentation, a process that is susceptible to mold growth if not executed carefully. However, the steps that ensure delicious, high quality coffee--careful, even drying; routine pH level and moisture checks--also help to ensure that your cup is ultimately safe and healthy. If a batch of coffee is moldy, that batch would not meet the quality standards necessary for export as a specialty product. With all the coffee that makes its way to Higher Grounds (or any specialty roaster), proper processing steps are carefully followed, and storage conditions are closely monitored, in order for your coffee to meet a quality standard and pass inspection for export and import.

But maybe, after reading that explanation, you’re still worried. You like to stay on the safe side. And it’s important to note that roasting does not neutralize mycotoxins; they can withstand extremely high temperatures. So can we offer you any further assurances?

Actually, yes. We absolutely can.

Naturally, our human bodies can tolerate a small percentage of mycotoxin exposure and have no discernible problems. Even if you consume 28 cups of coffee per week (anyone? that’s more than 4 per day…), that’s only 2% of your total tolerance for mycotoxins. Check out this very helpful chart from Royal Coffee NY:

In order to approach your total weekly limit for mycotoxin exposure, you would have to drink about 200 cups of coffee per day. (Anyone? No? Bueller?) Sure, you may consider yourself an addict… but truly, no worries here.

If you’re consuming 200 cups of coffee per day, you may have some more serious things to worry about.

To dive deeper into the details of mycotoxins in coffee, we recommend this article from Royal Coffee NY (our friends who made that very nice chart above).