Posted on 03/24/2025 12:06:42 PM PDT by Red Badger
A Swedish study found that workplace coffee machines often leave in high levels of cholesterol-raising compounds, unlike drip-filter machines which remove most of them.
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Coffee from workplace machines might be raising your cholesterol more than you think.
A new Swedish study reveals that many common office coffee machines fail to filter out cholesterol-elevating compounds found in coffee, sometimes leaving behind even more than espresso or French press. Depending on the machine and brewing method, the amount of harmful diterpenes like cafestol and kahweol can vary widely, and frequent coffee drinkers may be unknowingly boosting their LDL cholesterol levels.
Cholesterol-Raising Compounds in Workplace Coffee
A new study led by researchers at Uppsala University, in collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology, has found that some workplace coffee machines produce coffee with significantly higher levels of cholesterol-raising compounds. The findings are published in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases.
“Considering how much coffee is consumed in Swedish workplaces, we wanted to get a picture of the content of cholesterol-elevating substances in coffee from these types of machines. We studied fourteen coffee machines and could see that the levels of these substances are much higher in coffee from these machines than from regular drip-filter coffee makers,” says David Iggman, researcher at Uppsala University, who led the study.
“From this we infer that the filtering process is crucial for the presence of these cholesterol-elevating substances in coffee. Obviously, not all coffee machines manage to filter them out. But the problem varies between different types of coffee machines, and the concentrations also showed large variations over time,” Iggman continued.
Cafestol per Cup Coffee Chart
The bars indicate milligrams of cafestol per cup for the volumes 60 ml (espresso), 137.5 ml (coffee machines) and 150 ml (all others). Two samples were taken from the coffee machines 2-3 weeks apart and the dots in the bars represent average values between the two measurement occasions for each machine. Credit: David Iggman
First Study on Office Coffee Machines
It’s already well known that boiled coffee contains high levels of the cholesterol-raising diterpenes cafestol and kahweol. A fact acknowledged in the latest Nordic nutrition guidelines, which recommend limiting boiled coffee. In contrast, drip-filter coffee makers that use paper filters are highly effective at removing these substances.
How well conventional coffee machines, which are found in public environments such as workplaces, filter out these substances had not been investigated up until now. In the study, the researchers studied fourteen coffee machines in break rooms at different workplaces. The coffee used was five regular brands of ground coffee. They took samples from the coffee made by the machines on a number of separate occasions and analyzed the contents. There was a big difference between the machines in terms of the levels of cafestol and kahweol in the coffee they made, but the levels could also differ at different times.
Brewing Machines Showed the Most Risk
The most common type of coffee machine, in the study called a brewing machine, is the one that produced coffee with the highest concentrations of diterpenes. In comparative analyses, the researchers investigated peculator coffee, espresso, French press coffee, boiled coffee, and boiled coffee poured through a fabric filter. The boiled coffee contained the highest levels of diterpenes per cup. Some espresso samples also contained high levels, but there was great variation.
Filtered Coffee Still the Best Bet
“Most of the coffee samples contained levels that could feasibly affect the levels of LDL cholesterol of people who drank the coffee, as well as their future risk of cardiovascular disease. For people who drink a lot of coffee every day, it’s clear that drip-filter coffee, or other well-filtered coffee, is preferable. To determine the precise effects on LDL cholesterol levels, we would need to conduct a controlled study of subjects who would drink the coffee,” says David Iggman.
Facts in Brief
Two samples were taken from each machine every two to three weeks. The coffee varieties included medium roast and dark roast of five common brands of ground coffee. Most of the machines use ground coffee. One or two grind the beans in the machine, but the researchers don’t think that would have any effect on the levels of diterpenes.
We tested 14 machines, including 11 brewing machines and 3 liquid-model machines (lower levels, mixed from a coffee concentrate). For comparison, the same analysis was carried out with some other coffee-making methods such as percolator, French press, boiled coffee, and boiled coffee poured through a fabric filter. In addition, four espresso samples were collected in Gothenburg.
All the coffee samples were analysed at Chalmers University of Technology. The samples were collected by medical student Erik Orrje during spring 2024.
Reference:
“Cafestol and kahweol concentrations in workplace machine coffee compared with conventional brewing methods”
by Erik Orrje, Rikard Fristedt, Fredrik Rosqvist, Rikard Landberg and David Iggman, 20 February 2025, Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases.
DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2025.103933
The women at the office always make the worst coffee. They buy low grade coffee and then dont even put enough in to make the liquid dark enough to call coffee
When I was rented equipment for the state, I wouldnt even try to drink it. I just brought in a big thermos. Theirs was just dirty water, in fact it was a hint of the flavor of the smell of coffee oils left on the plastic filter holder when you dont wash it well.
He and I were both going through Test Instrument Repair School at MCB Albany, GA in 1974. He was a lifer on his second or third enlistment, changing MOS, and I was a private E1. We had both been thru Basic Electronics in 29 Palms the previous year.
In class we sat next to each other and we were allowed to have coffee at our desks. I noticed that his coffee cup was black inside but white outside. It was disgusting looking.
I asked him when was the last time he washed that thing and he said he never washed it.
He was married so he didn’t come in until later.
So one morning, near graduation, I came in a little early and washed his cup until it looked new................
Cowboy coffee wins by a nose ;)
“Link Between Office Coffee and Heart Health”
The headline talks about a link, but none is shown.
How about a “study” on office stress and heart health?
That’s called ‘Cowboy Coffee’..................
Barbarians!
Even that is only if you are willing to force yourself to believe that cholesterol is an issue.
Your liver isnt making cholesterol to kill you. Maybe medicine should be working on finding the causes of excess arterial inflammation and damage that is making the cholesterol do its job.
Did you see the article this morning? Now eggs arent not just bad or neutral but good for cardiac patients. They make a point of suggesting that egg cholesterol is good but suggesting that bacon cholesterol is still evil.
There isnt enough money on earth to get me to lie to people like that.
The Shocking Link Between Office Coffee and Heart Health
Whatever happened to the word SURPRISING
or UNEXPECTED
or
“A major problem with this study is any serious link between the compounds measured and heart disease.”
That was not in the scope of the study.
“How much is the cholesterol level raised?”
Not in scope of study.
“Does raising the cholesterol level have any significant effect on heart disease?”
Not in scope of study.
“The chain of causation in this study is very weak.”
They made no chain of causation.
BOMBSHELL?......................
Good to see paper-filtered at the bottom!
I use a white ceramic Karita cone with Karita paper filters in it. 24 g coffee + 380 g water into my coffee mug. I use the kitchen scale because the mug and Karita ceramic cone are opaque. With the kitchen scale, I know exactly how much water to add to precisely fill the mug.
I use decaf coffee about 80% of the time and regular coffee the other 20%.
“Translation: our study is a load of bollocks, but we call it “science” with a clikbait headline and voilà, it got publicity.”
Your anti-science bias led you to the wrong conclusion.
You quote shows the credibility of the study. They are declaring that their study makes no conclusions as to the effects on LDL levels.
“I use the kitchen scale “
I use a plastic spoon. 3 1/2 rounded.
I grind the beans and do a pourover. Darker beans so less acid.
Our, “Office Coffee,” sucks. I buy and bring my own, and use a French press. The other guys at work are doing the same after seeing my example.
I mix decaf and regular so that the caffeine content is not as strong..............
Every ‘company’ coffee pot I’ve ever drank from sucked..........
Also less caffeine....................
I bet he had a nuclear meltdown. Lol!
No, actually he was a very mild mannered Christian individual. Didn’t drink, smoke or cuss. His name was Norman, so we called him Sgt. Normal.
After graduation we were both stationed at the Calibration Lab at Camp Lejeune and he was still there when my enlistment was up. He was a Staff Sergeant by then and I was a Sergeant...........
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