December 8, 2018
I’ll always carry with me fond childhood memories of waking up every morning to the unmistakable scent of roasted green coffee beans and rushing downstairs to greet the big freight trucks that would arrive in our driveway jam-packed with burlap sacks from Guatemala, Costa Rica, Tanzania and beyond.
My Dad, a serial entrepreneur, decided to take a deep dive into the coffee business just about the point I was becoming a teenager.
So as you can imagine, by the age of 13, I was a tiny little coffee connoisseur myself. And at the ripe ol’ age of 21, during my time at University of Idaho, I worked as the manager of my parents’ coffee shop, “Bucer’s Coffeehouse & Pub” in Moscow, Idaho as well as a French bakery down the street serving chocolate croissants accompanied by piping hot cups of designer coffee.
Fast forward to present day and coffee continues to be a huge part of my life. I suck the stuff down like hydrogen-enriched water and am now selling my very own organic coffee through my company Kion.
So, today, I’m going to dive deeper into the subject of coffee than I’ve ever dived before in this ultimate coffee podcast that will teach you everything you need to know about coffee health, including the latest lab results on which coffee came out on top as the healthiest when tested against 46 of the world’s top coffee brands.
In this “solosode” podcast, you'll also discover:
-The top recently researched benefits of coffee…5:45
- NYT reports that coffee drinkers may live longer
- JAMA article: Association of Coffee Drinking With Mortality by Genetic Variation in Caffeine Metabolism
- Drinking coffee may contribute to a longer lifespan.
- 2017 study on the connection between coffee and a longer lifespan
-Reasons coffee may contribute to a longer lifespan…9:25
- Strong correlation between increased coffee consumption and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Regular coffee drinkers have 20% decreased risk of stroke.
- Coffee has polyphenols
- Over 1000 studies have linked coffee to cancer prevention
- Caffeinated coffee profound decrease in risk of breast, prostate and liver cancer.
- Caffeinated coffee correlated to reduced risk of Parkinson's disease.
- Decreases risk of depression
- My podcast with Dr. Sanjiv Chopra on the health benefits of coffee
-When to be careful with your coffee intake…15:45
- Avoid addiction. Switch to tea from time to time
- If you're a slower caffeine metabolizer
- If you're pregnant
-How the health benefits of coffee are compromised through packaging and processing…18:15
- The vast majority of coffee companies do not package their product touting the health benefits of coffee
- 5 problems to watch out for:
- Most coffee cherries are doused with pesticides and chemicals
- Even organic coffees use substandard beans
- Coffee beans often develop mold in the production process
- Roasting process often chars the coffee beans. Burns away health benefits.
- It's stale; sits in the store for 6-12 months before being purchased.
-What we tested for in each of the coffees we tested…27:00
- Level of roasting (We used an Agtron spectrophotometer)
- Acidity
- Mold and yeast (fungi)
- Ochratoxin A (OTA)
- Bacillus cereus
- Pesticides (Only 3% of coffees are certified organic)
- Metals
- Acrylamide
- Chlorogenic acids
- Caffeine
- “Cupping” score (quality)
-The results of our comprehensive coffee test…36:40
-How to do a coffee enema…40:47
- My article on coffee enemas
- What you'll need:
- Coffee enema kit (not plastic)
- Suppository (when traveling)
- Organic coffee
- Wilfa Precision Coffee Maker
- I use around 30 oz. of coffee.
- Cool it. (Ideal is room temperature)
And much more!
Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.
Resources for this episode:
–Stainless steel coffee enema kit
–63 Cups Of Coffee A Day & More: Five Simple Things You Can Do to Live a Longer, Healthier Life.
–How To Buy, Roast, Grind & Brew The Healthiest Cup Of Coffee You’ll Ever Drink.
–Is Decaf Coffee Healthy, Can You Have Too Much Iron, How Often Should You Pee On The Bike And More!
Episode Sponsors:
–The Kion Daily Life Bundle Ben Greenfield and Team Kion’s Go-to, Everyday Essentials!
- Kion Aminos Tablets
- Kion Bar (12)
- Kion Coffee
- Kion Lean
–GainsWave Firmer, more resilient erections. Take it from me, IT WORKS! Get a free treatment when you purchase 6 treatments using my link.
–JOOVV Enhance Your Health with Light Therapy. Try the brand new JOOVV Go. Get a free gift with your purchase when you use my link.
–Omax The purest Omega 3 supplement in the world. Get 60% off your first order, free shipping, and a 60-day money back guarantee.
Thanks for sharing awesome article, Coffee is really helpful to stay Active.
Hi Ben,
I like your podcast. Indeed I learned a lot from you. I am listening for 2 years, almost daily. Probably over 100 episodes.
But I challenge you with the coffee thing. Recently I listened to Medical medium on coffee and I stopped coffee. I feel so good. I was drinking only bulletproof coffee, organic and once a day. But even quitting that helped a lot.
I kindly ask for you to make some explanations on the claims he has.
And here is the episode
Listen to 007 Coffee, Matcha & Chocolate: Abusive Relationship by Medical Medium on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/6anW
Regards,
Fatih
Coffee is really helpful to stay active. Thanks for sharing this awesome article.
Great post!! I didn’t know coffee has so many benefits. I always prefer coffee more than tea. I need coffee every morning and now I know this is beneficial for me also. Thanks for this
Ben,
Wow, you seem to have covered almost all of the bases here.
One area that I’d like to add to is decaf. Most decaf as you know is decaffeinated by using solvents similar to formaldehyde. One exception is the Swiss Water Process, which uses, yep you guessed it, water. The point that I want to make is that decaf, even the best decaf in the world, can’t stand up to a good cup of regular coffee. BUT making that comparison is comparing apples to oranges.
As decaf goes, here’s what I’ve found. 99.9% of all decaf coffee is way way way over roasted. Dark roasted decaf is a travesty. Decaf coffee is best when roasted medium brown. Medium roasted decaf is also much smoother, i.e., much less bitter.
The problem is finding decaf in a medium roast. The only way I’ve found it is by searching the internet for “Smoothest Coffee”. There are a few good choices there, including decaf.
Hello Ben,
FYI
Your Coffee Lab Results does not link to the lab results but only goes to the same link as Kion Coffee.
This blog about The Ultimate Coffee Podcast: Everything You
Need To Know About Coffee Health, Including The Latest Lab Results On Which Coffee Is The Healthiest.
– Ben Greenfield Fitness has helped me a lot, is very well written. I used this fat burner product: https://s96.me/fit and
I reached the ideal weight. Kiss you All!
Hi Ben, do you have any links to the studies that showed a lower risk in cardiovascular disease and cancer by chance? I remember you said there was about 13,000 people involved in the study. James
Give me break! You have lost credibly in my view. If you are so concerned about the public health and then keep the results a secret (except for your coffee) publishing names is NOT throwing them under the bus. It’s called speaking the truth.
Hi Ben! I absolutely love coffee but cannot drink it because it causes my kidneys to feel inflamed. You stated that coffee is anti-inflammatory so it makes me wonder why I have this issue. I had a CT scan on my kidneys and the structure looked fine. I know you’re not a doctor, but do you have any ideas why I have this inflammatory pressure after drinking a cup of coffee? Thanks for any input :)
I admit I didn’t finish this podcast, and probably won’t. I was so interested in the science and the honesty in your research, and looking forward to hearing about the findings, but it was like a switch went on in the podcast from “compassionate, community driven health enthusiast” to “this is why you should buy my product”. I don’t doubt your expertise and passion is reflected in the quality of Kion, but I don’t respect the untactful way in which it felt like I was duped for the first 30 minutes into listening to a commercial, and I completely empathize with a lot of the people who’ve commented on here.
Ben, you cast a very wide net through your podcast, and I hope you realize that a lot of us are simple average Janes and Joes who put their trust into you to guide us towards a healthier life style. I can’t afford to justify $18-$20 dollars for 12 ounces of coffee, as nice as that would be. But I can afford what all of us have access to, what’s on the shelves of supermarkets. Are you friends with Folgers or Maxwell House? Do you know Kevin Johnson personally and would your listener-base really have that detrimental of an impact on the profits Starbucks pulls in? Like many people, if I can make a healthy change within my means I would do it. We all have a right to better ourselves. And you basically pulled a bait and switch on your audience to where you’re withholding information that could, according to your research, mean the difference between a longer, better life, or not. You offered an elixir to people who can afford it, and basically said “if you can’t, well just know there’s a good chance you’re drinking poison”. Though you likely weren’t being intentionally cruel, this was the result – and hopefully you’ll continue to have the integrity and fortitude that got us to listen to you in the first place and make things right.
I echo these sentiments. Love everything you talk about and the experts you bring to the discussion – but to omit the results of your testing is disheartening. I’m not doubting that your coffee is top notch, but to leave your audience guessing as to what brands have elevated levels of micotoxins, mold, pesticides etc is doing a disservice to those you proclaim to be trying to help. If you are worried about litigation due to reporting these results maybe you could just list the 10 least harmful brands. Just a thought. Thanks again for all that you do. You’ve helped me change my life for the better.
I completely agree. I don’t mind some self-promotion, but this segment was ridiculous.
Ben this is ridiculous nothing but an adversiment for your coffee… disappointing to say the least
Hey Ben,
I was wondering if you’d have any advice regarding your “caffeine detox” period – I know I have a dependency on caffeine as I tried my first day of being caffeine free and got a gnarly headache mid-afternoon. I want caffeine to work for me and not to work for it! Sidenote – my wife and I absolutely love your coffee and hopefully my family picked up on my hints for the three pack for Christmas!
Was bulletproof tested? That’s what I currently drink, curious to see how it compares with Kion. I know you don’t want to throw a company “under the bus” but would be surprised if it didn’t test out as well as Kion.
Thanks,
James
We conducted these tests so that we could make substantiated claims about Kion Coffee. We’ve provided the names of the labs we’ve tested with (in the lab results), and you’re welcome to test any brands you use or are concerned about.
Hey Ben, just wanted to tell you that it was pretty underhanded to keep the other companies private and not even give a top 5 or top 10 list. You basically told your listeners “Buy my Kion coffee or risk chronically poisoning yourself with mycotoxins”, which seems very antithetical to your life mission.
I guess I’ll have do comparisons independently. For anyone interested, here’s another company that seems similarly disciplined about quality: “www.puritycoffee.com”. $19.54 a pound if you subscribe for six or more months, which is a better price than Kion coffee.
I wouldn’t have to do this if Ben was honest enough to release the full information, but nobody is perfect all the time.
We conducted these tests so that we could make substantiated claims about Kion Coffee, not so we could call out and make other brands look bad. We’ve provided the names of the labs we’ve tested with (in the lab results), and you’re welcome to test any brands you use or are concerned about… In regards to Purity, the same beans are used for both. The advantage of purchasing through Kion is that we offer coffee bundles and free shipping on orders of $100 or more, so if you have any supplements to order, you can order everything at once and save on shipping.
Ben, In your research have you run into any studies related to excessive caffeine and seizures?
I am recovering from brain cancer. They tell me I’m in remission, but I’m left with occasional focal seizures from the tumor and surgeries. I try to diagnose causes for my seizures and have come up with several reasons. One of the last episodes I had more coffee than I normally would. I have about 5 cups (roughly 42 oz) each day. This day I had about an extra 2 cups. I blend my beans 1/2 regular/1/2 decaf, using organic beans. Any ideas? Thanks for the great podcasts.
I'm not a doctor so this shouldn't be interpreted as medical advise. I highly recommend discussing this issue with your doctor or specialist. Caffeine certainly has an effect on your brain, so perhaps with your tumor and surgery the caffeine is triggering such a response… Again, recommend advising a professional.
I live n Costa Rica. I am happy your brand was the best but living in Costa Rica I cannot afford to import coffee from the US. I would have to spend sometimes hundreds of dollars and 2 days in the countries capitol to get through the health department and customs department to receive the package here. Their are only two options. Have someone repackage the coffee or have a shipper label the coffee as a nonfood, or travel to the US and bring the coffee in in my luggage. All of these methods are fraudulent or not financially prudent. I am sure there are coffees here in Costa Rica that are clean and great tasting, and very possibly suppliers of Kion coffee. Are you willing to assist a retired American with limited resources get clean coffee in Costa Rica?
This podcast left a bitter taste Ben. I think I would be more inclined towards purchasing your product if it was robustly compared with its rivals. You should respect your listeners more than this. Thinking to take a break from the podcast for a while.
Hey Ben!! Loved the show as always.
I would like to still know each other brands of coffee could be a good option.
I know that you have your own brand, but would like to know what other options It would be beneficial for me.
Any other suggestion besides Kion?
Thanks man!
coffee is anti inflammatory and helps prevent depression goes against everything I’ve heard or read ever. I’m over the moon to discover I can now incorporate it into my anti inflammatory diet!
Ben I believe you owe more to your fans/followers/customers than to your friends in the coffee business so you really need to find a way to share this study of yours. You might lose a friend or two in the coffee business but gain in trust of thousands that follow you.
This industry is very prone to snakeoil salesmen so let’s help each other here.
Ben I drink Nespresso pucks everyday. Can you please tell me if they have toxins?
Normally I like listening to your podcast but this coffee episode made me feel like I wasted an hour of my life being advertised to. You claimed you had no financial benefit but you clearly do. Not surprising that your brand came out on top.
Love and appreciate your show, but that came off as an infomercial.
Hi Ben,
enjoyed the podcast as ALWAYS. wondering if i’m trashing the benefits of using pure optimal coffee if i grind less than 12 hours prior to brewing…? i have a tiny living space and am imbibing super early :)
apart from taking the grinder outside mucho predawn everyday, i need to do the bean grinding at a semi decent hour. and yes i keep in a stainless airtight container. THANKS
ben,
I’m not sure why you mentioned testing the other brands of coffee if you had no intention of releasing those results and only sharing the results of your brand. Because of the results you shared about your coffee I went ahead and picked up my first bag but I would have really appreciated reading and/or hearing the results of the other brands tested. I have to agree with other comments that if we are being mislead then we need to know. I honestly do not understand why you would test brands from companies owned by friends while having no intention of sharing that information with anyone. I really feel that this podcast was promoted that this information would be shared, even if you left out the results from select companies at least if would have been something. Outside of that it really comes across as just self promoting and basically an infomercial
I like the idea of cycling off caffeine for a week each month, however, I get mid-afternoon headaches for the first 2 or 3 days. Taking an NSAID helps, but don’t NSAIDs damage the gut? Is there a better way to ward off headaches during this weaning phase?
Tyrosine!
Ben you are now in coffee business.
saying things like “you’d be surprised how many top brands are bad because of X” is vague at best and disingenuous at worst. this whole thing sounds more like a infomercial unless you’re willing to share the studies you’ve conducted.
I am willing to bet most people that listen to your podcast are not buying coffee with mold in it.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/the-mycotoxins-in-coffee-myth
OMAX or super essential fish oils???
I prefer Super Essentials
Could you please corroborate the claim that coffee enemas will boost of glutathione levels buy up to 700%?
I ask because there doesn’t seem to be any research to back up this claim, but you see that figure thrown around a lot. As far as I can tell the origin of the claim was a study in which mice were fed coffee, but how does that translate? Dr. Sarah Ballantyne seems to think there is no evidence for the claim: https://www.thepaleomom.com/coffee-enemas-what-the-science-says-versus-what-youve-heard/?cn-reloaded=1
It's discussed in this article: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/coffeeenema
Could you please corroborate the claim that coffee enemas boost glutathione levels by up to 700%?
Anyone here ever tried using coffee for weight loss
Informative but I am also disappointed about the omission of the test results other than Kion. Lame
Agree, I wanted to know if any commercial were actually safe to drink, but just promotes his own product.
First of all, I totally understand Ben’s point. I am sure Ben can mastermind with some of his friends on better ways to improve their coffee if they are open to that option or to private label. Yes, it would be nice to know which brands didnt get an A+ but knowing there is a coffee out there that can be purchased currently with “clean beans” who cares if he is self promoting. He has provided a legitimate test. He is a highly respected gentleman that is here to provide all of us with a plethora of knowledge and backed by science data. He puts out superior content and to me that is worth buying his products. Thanks for all you do Ben.
I agree and absolutely love everything that you do, Ben. I was thinking that if you got the “go ahead” from your friends in the industry and identified each brand, I’d be pretty sure that their brand’s results would be much better than folgers, dunkin donuts, starbucks, etc. So at least at that point, the everyday consumer could realize “wow….I could be drinking much cleaner coffee than I am today” and they would switch to either Kion or your friend’s brands. I feel like this would be a win for everyone.
In any event, I’m digging these “solo-sodes”. I think they provide a great 3rd avenue in addition to your weekly with Brock and interview with a friend or intriguing author. Your knowledge is so vast, as well as deep….I think the solo-sodes where you really dig into something have been great so far.
I agree with the other comments, it would be nice to see which competing brands you actually included and to be transparent and not just a sales podcast for your coffee – it would be nice to show us consumers the other brands. Isn’t it all about helping others on our wellness journey?
And I am a customer of yours through your affiliate links, including joovv max, four sigmatic, Amazon links, and others. I was thinking to buy some of your coffee while listening to the podcast but after looking at the report and not seeing the other brands names, I’ll stick with the whole foods organic coffee for now.
Thanks Ben!
I have to agree with Mike I was thinking of purchasing your coffee even though it’s a small fortune, but after the way, you presented the (promo Kion coffee) podcast and are withholding vital information feels unethical to support your product even though I’m sure it’s top tier. Come on Ben you’re better than this.
Hello Mike,
Could you help me out? I have searched for the link to the report everywhere and cannot find it. Could you post the link here? Frustrating that it is hard to find.
In the podcast you said you’d be showing the results of all the coffee brands, “open book” as you put it. I understand than friends of yours may own some of these coffee brands but I want to know what coffees I can buy and be comfortable with drinking. I know purity coffee is great which I buy direct from them rather than kion because of the markup. I want more than coffee brand #X so I know what to specifically buy. I think as consumers we have a right to know. If some of your ‘friends’ that sell so called healthy coffee come back with subpar results then they aren’t be truthful to consumers. You shouldn’t be worrying about “throwing someone under the bus”. If they sell coffee that doesn’t live up to the healthy standards in these tests then they are the ones that should be worried and need to be called out on it. I don’t want to be boxed into just buying purity coffee because that’s the only one I’ve seen the results from.
I completely agree. The anonymity is completely bogus. If the results are legitimate then let the sunshine in. This podcast felt like one long ad for your coffee.
Interesting podcast report, and I found it very well supported with research. However, in your effort for self-promotion you purposely omitted the competing brands of coffee. You really should publish that list otherwise you come across thoroughly unprofessional and self serving.
Put yourself in my shoes. Many of these other coffee companies are owned by my friends and I don't want to shove them under the bus per se.
If they are selling us truly inferior product, we need to know. Very disappointed, Ben….
if you really were doing nothing but objective testing, the results are the results. We need to know.
I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. Friends or not, they are misleading consumers and selling inferior product purporting it as healthier.
ALL TO MAKE PROFITS!!!
Hmm, Mr Bulletproof :)
There are other ways to go about this.
1.
You can leave out the names of your friends’ coffee brands and publish the rest. I doubt that it’s more than a handful of the 46 brands?…
2.
You can show the brands of the top 5 coffees in each result (high antioxidants, low mold, etc.). That’s what the consumer magazines do.
Cheers
Well, I’m pleased that your brand scores well. It was your $$ that paid for the study so up to you how you use the results. However, the story was building up to being really informative for your followers who want to know if they are drinking good stuff or bad stuff. The end result is really disappointing.
so instead it sounds like you’re shoving all other brands under the bus :(
Ben, this was a great podcast. But if you are providing your audience with informative points that relate to health, you cannot just say “some coffee brands are bad, some are better, some are good, mine is the best”. I don’t believe in the self-serving purpose of this podcast but if you’re giving advise on health-related issues, either you provide complete informations or you don’t provide it at all.
You have to at least give us the opportunity to know if the coffee we are drinking is shit or not by allowing us to privately email you about it.
If your friends are not making a great coffee that’s on them. It’s the rule of free market: if they provide quality coffee, consumers will buy it. If not, they will go to buy someone else’s.
I will not even consider to buy Kion coffee as long as the research is not entirely transparent when it comes to your competitors, and I would appreciate if you could email that to me.
I admit I didn’t finish this podcast, and probably won’t. I was so interested in the science and the honesty in your research, and looking forward to hearing about the findings, but it was like a switch went on in the podcast from “compassionate, community driven health enthusiast” to “this is why you should buy my product”. I don’t doubt your expertise and passion is reflected in the quality of Kion, but I don’t respect the untactful way in which it felt like I was duped for the first 30 minutes into listening to a commercial, and I completely empathize with a lot of the people who’ve commented on here.
Ben, you cast a very wide net through your podcast, and I hope you realize that a lot of us are simple average Janes and Joes who put their trust into you to guide us towards a healthier life style. I can’t afford to justify $18-$20 dollars for 12 ounces of coffee, as nice as that would be. But I can afford what all of us have access to, what’s on the shelves of supermarkets. Are you friends with Folgers or Maxwell House? Do you know Kevin Johnson personally and would your listener-base really have that detrimental of an impact on the profits Starbucks pulls in? Like many people, if I can make a healthy change within my means I would do it. We all have a right to better ourselves. And you basically pulled a bait and switch on your audience to where you’re withholding information that could, according to your research, mean the difference between a longer, better life, or not. You offered an elixir to people who can afford it, and basically said “if you can’t, well just know there’s a good chance you’re drinking poison”. Though you likely weren’t being intentionally cruel, this was the result – and hopefully you’ll continue to have the integrity and fortitude that got us to listen to you in the first place and make things right.
i respect u for what u r doing. I have question: i live in egypt so if i choose the ethiopian coffee is that good in terms in organic and pesticide free coffee?..Also i use an ibrik to boil coffee cuz that what i have available is that good brewing method in terms of health benefits
The coffee you choose should specifically state that it is organic. Ethiopian simply refers to where the beans were grown. The ibrik should be fine as long as it is of higher quality to limit unnecessary exposure to metal toxicity