A number of people are fond of taking coffee and can’t go without a cup every morning. If you ever come to know that there are cockroaches in your coffee, would you still drink it? Does coffee contain cockroaches? How do roaches end up in coffee? Which coffee contain roaches and does grounded-up cockroaches in your coffee trigger an allergy? This article will cover in detail this subject matter. Keep on reading.
What if the coffee you drink has fragment of cockroaches, would you still drink it? The fact is that, there particles of cockroaches in coffee. They are not added deliberately but rather cockroaches are naturally pests of coffee plants. This means they become part of the production process.
These parts of cockroaches are small and cannot be seen by humans. The most part of coffee at risk to have cockroaches is the pre-ground while whole beans are less at risk to contain parts of the roaches.
Is this something you should worry about? Keep in mind that the fragments of coffee occur in range of natural-grown food, meaning it is impossible to remove them completely from the production process. Don’t think of quitting coffee.
Are There Ground-Up Cockroaches in Your Coffee?
Yes, there are ground-up cockroaches in your coffee. You may not like it but this is the disturbing fact. Coffee beans tend to be infested with cockroaches, this means it is possible to have fragments of cockroaches in your coffee.
While it is sound gross, it is only a small percentage of cockroaches that end up in coffee. Why is this the case? It is nearly impossible to remove all the cockroaches in coffee. The fragments constitute 10% which is too small for you to notice or smell.
Are There Roaches in Coffee?
You may be wondering whether there are ground-up cockroaches in your coffee. As mentioned earlier, before coffee is grounded, the large piles of coffee beans get infested with cockroaches. It is almost impossible to remove them completely. This is how they are ground up with coffee beans.
According to FDA studies, it has been concluded that about 10% of coffee beans are infested with insects such as cockroaches. Clearly, it is hard to avoid roaches in coffee ground.
From studies, it has been concluded an average human tend to consume about 136080 insect fragments from drinking just coffee every year. You shouldn’t be worried, the fragments are too small to see or even taste them. It is not like you will find a whole cockroach in your coffee.
How Do Roaches End up in Coffee?
Roaches naturally end up in coffee usually in the production process. This is to say that cockroaches aren’t added to your coffee. Insects and other bugs tend to infest coffee beans, while they may be efforts to remove them, it is hard to completely remove them.
Coffee is commonly grown in these locations: central and south America, Africa and the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
As mentioned, roaches will feed on freshly harvested coffee cherries. In the process, they end up being processed alongside the cherries before being dried and turned into coffee beans. In this whole process, it is impossible to remove the roaches.
Comparatively, farmers in less developed regions are disadvantaged. They don’t have sophisticated tools to separate roaches from the coffee crop. The process is quite extensive that include harvesting, processing, drying the beans, milling, exporting, roasting and finally grinding. Cockroaches may not survive the process but they end in grounded in small fragments.
Can Cockroaches in Coffee Trigger An Allergy?
Roaches are known to trigger allergies in human. If you constantly become sick after taking your cup of coffee, then it is the roaches responsible and not the coffee. If you are allergic to cockroaches after drinking coffee, you are likely to experience itchy skin, hives, asthmatic attacks, cramps and severe headaches and migraines.
Asthmatic attacks are some of the common symptoms that happens when one comes into contact with roaches. Cockroach alone cannot cause asthma but it is their saliva, feces and cockroach shedding that are responsible.
Although cockroaches can be reduce significantly by using heavier pesticides on coffee plants, the health problem on human is a concern than just getting rid of roaches. If you are victim of asthma attacks and allergies from consuming coffee, the only remedy is to stop taking the beverage.
Which Coffee Contains Cockroaches?
Do all coffee contain cockroaches? Which coffee contains roaches? You may be wondering which type of coffee has cockroaches. While it is the effort of most coffee manufacturer to make sure that their coffee beans is cockroach free, the fact is that it is almost impossible to remove them completely. As said, the coffee-ground end up with fragments of roaches which is just 10%.
So, which coffee contains cockroaches? Let’s discuss some of the coffee types that may or may not have roaches:
Does Whole Bean Coffee Have Cockroaches?
In the case of whole bean coffee, the grinding process is left to the buyer. This means that the coffee is somewhat fresher and with a complex flavor. But does this type of coffee has roaches?
The assumption is that in this stage, the coffee is unlikely to have roaches since they are selected and roasted separately. The process is thorough than when the coffee is grounded up. But is impossible to know whether the coffee has roaches or not, meaning that there is always a possible to have fragment of roaches.
Does Pre-Ground Coffee Contain Roaches?
This type of coffee is usually not processed beyond the washing and roasting process before it is finally packaged and retailed to a coffee shop. It is possibly in the coffee shop where the coffee deteriorates attracting roaches.
Pre-ground coffee is more likely to have cockroach fragments since it is not as processed as instant coffee. As said, it is only about 10% that end up in coffee; which is too small to taste or feel. So you needn’t to worry unless you are allergic or have asthma.
Does Ground Coffee Contain Roaches?
Compared to other types of coffee, ground coffee is fresher. But this doesn’t imply that it lacks fragments of roaches. As mentioned, there is no way you can tell whether there are roaches in your coffer or not, but as said the fragments only make up to 10% which is to too small to notice or even taste.
Does Nescafe Contain Cockroaches?
Nescafe is a popular coffee brand but it doesn’t necessarily mean that there are no cockroaches in this type of coffee. There are still fragment of roaches in this type of coffee, although little to cause any concern.
Does Starbucks Coffee Contain Cockroaches?
Starbuck coffee just like the other types of coffee will most certainly have fragment of roaches. Although it is a premium kind of coffee brand, it is supplied from the same places as other coffee brands. This is to say there’s a high likelihood to have cockroach fragments in it.
What Other Bugs Are in Coffee?
The focus shouldn’t just be on cockroaches in coffee, there are other bugs to look out for. Coffee could be contaminated with bugs such as: molluscs, microscopic parasites, mealybugs, coffee leaf miner and coffee borer beetle.
Coffee borer beetles happen to be the most invasive kind of bug. They are so small which makes to easily burrow inside the cherries. It can be hard to kill with pesticides.
Does The FDA Allow Cockroaches In Coffee?
The Food and Drug Administration has a role to protect members of the public in the United States. This implies the food you eat and drugs you use has to be approved and shouldn’t be contaminated.
Surprisingly, FDA allows a certain percentage of cockroaches to be in coffee which is considered or labelled as “unavoidable defects in food.” This is to say, cockroaches are allowed as natural contaminants. It is considered as economically unavoidable to grow, harvest and process raw products without having bugs and insects.
For your safety, if the cockroach fragments are too high, FDA won’t approve such products as they are not fit for human consumption. So, you shouldn’t worry unless you ever find a whole cockroach in your coffee.
Naturally, is it not possible to eliminate all the roach fragments in your coffee. Only a small number enter your coffee which according to FDA poses no harm to human health. But if you are allergic, you may have to quit coffee altogether.
