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
Yes that darn bombshell
I am so tired of every headline looking like it is coming from the Enquirer or the Daily Mail
The problem isn’t the coffee measure. It’s that the filter and cup are opaque — can’t see how much water is going into the mug. I used to get not enough or overflow until I thought “Measure the weight, dummy!”
Did you scrub the stains off his teeth, too?
Have you taken your Keurig apart and cleaned the lines from the tank to the spout? They are generally filthy and full of black slime.
The Euros have this great powder espresso machine cleaner called Cafiza. It is *great* for removing coffee oil residue from stainless steel, works great on regular coffee makers, too. Recommended.
Nonsense.
Same here!
Oxyclean on this side of the pond
I think of that as a laundry product. Both white powders though.
“and don’t get me started on messing with their coffee mugs..”
Really. Never EVER wash someone else’s coffee mug! Especially if he writes your performance review.
Similar ingredients
When I worked for a big pharma company in CA, the coffee in all of the break rooms and food courts was complimentary Seattle’s Best. I loved it!
“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 clean our Keurig by running white vinegar through it. They say it does a good job but I don’t know if it’s true.
“Yet the same study claims that it has found “the shocking link between office coffee and heart health.”
The study makes no such claim.
“contrary to what it claims loudly in its headline.”
Dude, the authors of the study have ZERO say as to what goes into the headline.
It was written by some jock who has never read the study and probably didn’t read the whole article.
He is only thinking about how he can word it to jerk off the most people.
I hope you learn from this.
I learned in the 7th Fleet that the worst crime an E4 can commit is to make weak coffee. It needs to be strong enough to melt spoons.
Don’t be so dense, will you?
“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.” David Iggman, co-author of the study, who is also full of it.
Stop digging. You already embarrassed yourself by being jerked by some dude at a keyboard.
“Dude, the authors of the study have ZERO say as to what goes into the headline.”
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