311. Mold Toxins in Coffee: Why Organic Isn't Enough

“what if I told you that the thing you look forward to every single morning, your coffee, could contain toxins produced by mold? And you'd have absolutely no idea. You wouldn't see it. You wouldn't smell it.”

“And I've spent years telling people to test virtually everything that goes into their body. So how did I miss coffee? Let me tell you what happened. I've looked at thousands and thousands of people's labs and I've had people sitting right across from me saying, Gary, I'm exhausted. I can't think clearly. I've got headaches. I wake up tired, more tired than I went to bed.”

“We're asking, what are you breathing every day? But what about what are you drinking every day? And that's when I started looking at coffee. Here's something most people don't know. Coffee is a fruit. What we call the bean is actually the seed inside of a coffee cherry. That fruit gets picked, processed, dried, stored, put into bags, transported, stored again, and then it's roasted.”

“Those toxins are called mycotoxins. Forget the word. Here's what matters. Mold can leave behind toxins in coffee and your senses can't tell whether they're there. That's what sent me into research. And then I found a number that just stopped me. 54.6%.”

“of them, more than half. I remember reading that and just thinking, wait a minute, I've been drinking coffee every morning for decades. Has anybody ever tested mine? I didn't know. So I went to my coffee, picked up the bag, turned it around, nothing.”

“So then I discovered mold wasn't the only thing I should be asking about. Let's talk about heavy metals. Here's something nobody else talks about when you talk about coffee. Some of the best coffee growing regions in the world are around volcanic areas. Why? Because the soil can be incredibly fertile, mineral-rich, amazing for growing coffee, which sounds great until you ask, what's actually in”

“And coffee is a plant. It interacts with the soil that it grows in. So researchers have measured heavy metals in coffee at varying concentrations. That doesn't mean every cup of coffee contains dangerous levels.”

“Because I didn't. And here's the irony that really got me. I filter my water. A lot of you probably filter your water and then take that perfectly filtered water every morning and pour it over coffee you've never tested. You're worried about the water, but what about the coffee? So now I'm standing in the kitchen looking at this bag completely differently.”

“But I also wanted somebody to say, here's a laboratory report. Show it to me. And that's it. And eventually I realized the coffee I was looking for was the coffee I was going to have to create. That's how the Ultimate Brew started. Not because I wanted a coffee company. I didn't. I wanted coffee I could drink every morning without guessing.”

“Seriously, don't. There's a QR code on the bag. Scan it. Look at the results yourself. Because if any company tells you our coffee is clean, I want your immediate response to be, show me, show me the test. That's the standard. And I want you to do something for me tomorrow morning. Before you make your coffee, look at the bag.”

“And I want to explain the word lot. Coffee is agriculture. It comes in batches. We source a lot, we roast it, we test it, and then we release it. And when that lot's gone, we don't just turn a machine back on and make more tomorrow.”

“And coffee is only a part of what we're doing there. We brought together a curated collection of the products I use and talk about around the things you do consistently. Because here's something I've learned after looking at thousands of people.”

“What do you repeatedly expose your body to? That's why coffee suddenly mattered to me, because for decades, it was one of my most consistent inputs and I had never questioned it. So I'll leave you with this. I don't want you to be buying my coffee because Gary Brecca's name is on the bag.”

“code. Look at the results. That's why it's there. Because the next time someone asks you, do you know what's in your morning coffee? I don't want your answer to be, I think so. I want it to be, I know. Don't guess. Test. That's just science.”

“It's organic. Doesn't answer my question either. And this is important. Organic coffee and coffee that's been tested for mold, toxins, and heavy metals are not the same thing. I wanted organic, absolutely. But I also wanted somebody to say, here's a laboratory report.”

Also filed under Coffee

“That's when I realized I was actually breaking my own rule. Don't guess. Test. I tested blood. I tested water. I looked at biomarkers. I'm incredibly particular about supplements. But one of the first things I put into my body every morning, I had been guessing for decades.”