Top 5 Best Mold and Mycotoxin Free Coffee Brands of 2022
January 17, 2022No one wants to drink moldy coffee, but finding expertly sourced, properly roasted, and third-party lab tested coffee can be a challenge. To help make your search as simple as possible, we've compiled a list of most popular "mold free" coffee's including Bulletproof, Peak Performance, Isagenix, Kicking Horse, and our very own Natural Force Clean Coffee. We will examine how each company sources, roasts, and tests their coffee beans so you can decide for yourself which mold and mycotoxin free coffee is right for you!
In this article, you’ll discover:
Bulletproof Original Coffee
About the Company
Bulletproof offers a range of science-based products to help customers "biohack" their way to optimized health and performance. Started by Dave Asprey in 2004, coffee was one of Bulletproof's first product offerings and is marketed as "certified clean". That said, "certified clean" isn't a valid 3rd party certification and some consumers have found it difficult to get the full picture from Bulletproof.
Coffee Sourcing
- Multi-origin
- Organically grown claim without USDA Organic certification
- Direct partnership with small farms
- Grown in Guatemala and Colombia depending on the season
Coffee Certifications
- Rainforest Alliance Certified
Roasting Practices
Bulletproof promotes their proprietary Bulletproof Process™, and although the details of their process are kept a secret, it’s known that they use a wet processing method to help reduce toxins.
How They Test Their Coffee for Mold
Bulletproof also has a proprietary testing process, but they do not make those test results public and do not make them available upon request.
The Bottom Line
While Bulletproof carries organically grown coffee from small family farms, not much else is known about the quality of their coffee. Due to their propriety Bulletproof Process™, they keep their roasting and testing methods completely under lock and key, requiring customers to trust their word that their coffee is as high-quality as they claim it to be.
Peak Performance Organic Coffee
About the Company
Peak Performance is a supplement company that offers toxin-free coffee that meets FDA, GMP and NSF regulations. With each purchase, they also donate to a charity that provides supplements to malnourished children.
Coffee Sourcing
- Single-origin
- 100% arabica coffee beans
- Grown at high altitudes in the Guatemala Highlands
- GMO-free
- Pesticide-free
Coffee Certifications
- Fair Trade Certified
- USDA-Certified Organic
Roasting Practices
Each batch of arabica coffee is medium-roasted and available as whole bean or ground.
How They Test for Mold
Peak Performance coffee is tested for the absence of heavy metals, yeast, and mold (among other things). Though they don't share their coffee's third-party test results publicly, they are willing to share them when asked.
The Bottom Line
Peak Performance offers a high-quality coffee that is both health-promoting and socially responsible, and they're willing to be transparent with their test results.
Isagenix Coffee
About the Company
Isagenix is a MLM (multi-level marketing) business which offers a multitude of supplements from protein powders to coffee to help customers improve their health.
Coffee Sourcing
- 100% Arabica coffee beans
- Coffee beans are selected by a licensed coffee grader
- Multiple origins (countries unlisted)
- Grown at high altitudes
- Their coffee contains green tea extract, trace minerals, and coconut oil
Coffee Certifications
- USDA-Certified Organic
- Fair Trade Certified
Roasting Practices
Isagenix Coffee is medium-roasted in small batches. The beans are finished using Cool Grind Technology which involves roasting their beans slowly to preserve its flavor and avoid burning.
How They Test for Mold
Isagenix claims that their coffee is tested for the mycotoxins aflatoxin and ochratoxin. Their test results are not publicly available and they do not provide the results when requested.
The Bottom Line
Isagenix offers an organic coffee that is tested for mycotoxins and roasted to maximize flavor. Their coffee is only available pre-ground, which sacrifices the coffee’s freshness and antioxidant levels, and contains green tea extract and coconut oil, which may not appeal to the coffee purists.
Kicking Horse Coffee: Kick Ass
About the Company
Kicking Horse is one of Canada’s leading coffee brands and its mission is to create exceptional coffee. They've been in business for over 20 years and are dedicated to providing Organic, Fair Trade, and socially responsible, sustainably grown coffee.
Coffee Sourcing
- Single-origin and then blended in house
- Arabica coffee beans
- Grown at high altitudes
- 95% of beans are wet-processed
Coffee Certifications
- USDA-Certified Organic
- Canada Organic Certified
- Fair Trade Certified
Roasting Practices
Not much is known about Kicking Horse Coffee's roasting practices as they relate to preventing mold and mycotoxins, however, they do share that all coffee beans except those from Africa are wet-processed and visually inspected for mold before being roasted. They are also stored in Invermere, British Colombia, Canada, which has low humidity, therefore lowering the risk of potential contaminates.
How They Test for Mold
Kicking Horse’s coffee is regularly tested for mold, yeast, and bacteria by an independent laboratory and they share that the results have been negative 100% of the time. Though they don't share these results publicly, they will provide this information (but not specific test results) when asked.
The Bottom Line
Kicking Horse Coffee is an established coffee company whose primary focus is creating great tasting coffee. Though their coffee is organic, they don't test for mycotoxins, so while the coffee tastes great, it may not have the same standards as other brands.
Natural Force Clean Coffee
About the Company
Natural Force is a whole food-based nutrition company that produces supplements for health and performance. Founded in 2009 by best friends Joe and Justin, Natural Force is dedicated to using clean, healthy ingredients to craft easy-to-use products that are packaged in non-toxic, eco-friendly materials. They are a certified B-Corp that publicly shares the 3rd party lab test results for all of the items in their catalog.
Coffee Sourcing
- Single-origin from sustainable coffee plantations
- Specialty grade coffee beans
- Handpicked
- Organically grown
- 100% Arabica coffee beans
- Shade grown at an altitude of 5,500' in the high mountains of Colombia
Coffee Certifications
- USDA-Certified Organic
- Certified Vegan
- Certified Keto
- Certified Paleo
Roasting Practices
Natural Force Clean Coffee beans are carefully roasted to minimize acrylamide and maximize health-enhancing compounds like the super antioxidant chlorogenic acid. As a result, each batch of Clean Coffee’s specialty grade beans contain 200% more antioxidants than your average coffee.
How They Test for Mold
Clean Coffee is stored in temperature-controlled warehouses that eliminate the heat and humidity required for mold to grow. The green coffee is then roasted and tested for gluten, heavy metals, over a dozen different mycotoxins, mold, yeast, and more than 150 pesticides including glyphosate.
Unlike every other brand on this list, we are happy to share our third-party test results publicly and don't hide behind "proprietary" processes and uncertified claims. To see them for yourself, just click here.
The Bottom Line
Clean Coffee is single-origin, specialty grade, sustainably sourced, strategically roasted to preserve coffee’s healthiest antioxidants, and we're proud to be completely transparent with our test results!
Conclusion
Finding mold and mycotoxin free coffee can be difficult, but it's not impossible! When in doubt, ask to see the test results yourself and if a company refuses, perhaps they are hiding something that you don't want to be drinking every morning.
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