Article Impact Level: HIGH Data Quality: STRONG Summary of Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, 103933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2025.103933 Dr. Erik Orrje et al.
Points
- This study measured cholesterol-raising diterpenes in different coffee types, finding the highest concentrations in workplace-brewed coffee compared to home-brewed or liquid-model machine coffee samples.
- Boiled coffee without filtering contained extremely high levels of cafestol and kahweol, while pouring it through fabric filters drastically reduced these concentrations, demonstrating the importance of filtration in reducing diterpene intake.
- Percolators and French presses produced intermediate diterpene levels, while some espresso samples unexpectedly contained very high concentrations of cafestol, reaching up to 2447 mg/L in certain cases.
- The research indicates that unfiltered or minimally filtered coffee types may contribute significantly to elevated LDL cholesterol levels, a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
- Regular coffee consumption from workplace machines, which often lack adequate filtering, may represent an underrecognized source of cholesterol-raising compounds and could increase cardiovascular risk among habitual drinkers.
Summary
This study investigates the concentrations of cholesterol-raising diterpenes, specifically cafestol, and kahweol, in various types of brewed coffee. Diterpenes are present in unfiltered coffee and have been linked to elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, which may affect cardiovascular health. The study measured the levels of these diterpenes using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in coffee samples collected from Swedish workplaces, home-brewed coffee, and different brewing machines. The median concentrations of cafestol and kahweol were found to be highest in brewed coffee from workplace machines, with concentrations of 176 mg/L (24–444 mg/L) and 142 mg/L (18–434 mg/L), respectively. Liquid-model machines and home-brewed coffee showed lower concentrations, with liquid-model machines containing 8 mg/L (2–343 mg/L) of cafestol and 7 mg/L (2–288 mg/L) of kahweol and home-brewed coffee containing 12 mg/L (4–24 mg/L) of cafestol and 8 mg/L (3–19 mg/L) of kahweol.
Boiled coffee, known for its unfiltered nature, exhibited the highest diterpene levels, with cafestol concentrations reaching 939 mg/L and kahweol at 678 mg/L. However, when this coffee was poured through a fabric filter, the concentrations dropped to 28 mg/L and 21 mg/L, respectively. Other coffee brewing methods, such as percolators and French presses, produced intermediate levels of diterpenes, around 90 mg/L for cafestol and 70 mg/L for kahweol. Interestingly, some espresso samples contained very high levels, with up to 2447 mg/L of cafestol.
The findings suggest that coffee brewed from workplace machines often contains significantly higher diterpene concentrations than paper-filtered coffee but lower than unfiltered coffee. Given the potential impact of diterpenes on LDL cholesterol, regular consumption of insufficiently filtered coffee in workplace settings could be a previously overlooked contributor to cardiovascular risk, especially in the context of daily intake.
Link to the article: https://www.nmcd-journal.com/article/S0939-4753(25)00087-0/fulltext
References Orrje, E., Fristedt, R., Rosqvist, F., Landberg, R., & Iggman, D. (2025). Cafestol and kahweol concentrations in workplace machine coffee compared with conventional brewing methods. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, 103933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2025.103933
