What they actually are
Aflatoxins are a family of compounds made by moulds in the Aspergillus group. They are not added to anything. They form on their own when a crop sits in the wrong conditions. Warmth. Moisture. Time. The mould grows, and some strains produce these compounds as it does.
They are most associated with maize, peanuts, tree nuts, and dried spices. Coffee is not the headline crop here. But coffee is an agricultural product, dried and stored, and so it sits within the same conversation.
How they relate to coffee
The risk lives before the roast. A green coffee bean that was dried too slowly, or stored humid, can develop mould, and with it the possibility of these compounds. Good drying and clean, dry storage are the real defence. Most of the work happens at origin and in transit, long before a roaster opens the bag.
The foundation is a clean green bean to begin with. That is where we choose to look.
What we do
Ethiopia Kayon and Peru Palto were sent as green beans to independent laboratories accredited to ISO/IEC 17025. The laboratories tested for aflatoxin B1 and total aflatoxins. Each result came back as not detected, meaning none was found down to the laboratory's limit of detection, and each report is linked on its coffee's page. The other coffees on our shelf have not been tested and are not scheduled to be; their pages say so.
We test at the green stage because that is where the risk would be, if it were anywhere.
A note on tone
None of this is a reason for alarm, and it is not a claim about anyone else's coffee. Most people drink coffee for a lifetime without a second thought, and that is reasonable. We test for a simpler reason. We prefer to know rather than assume. The result is something we can show you, not something you have to take on faith. The other compound we screen for is ochratoxin A.
The short answers
What are aflatoxins? Compounds produced by certain moulds, mainly Aspergillus, on crops stored warm and damp. They are most common on grains, nuts, and dried spices, and can appear on poorly handled green coffee.
Are aflatoxins in coffee a concern? The risk sits at the green-bean stage and is managed by good drying and dry storage. Ethiopia Kayon and Peru Palto were tested on the green bean for aflatoxin B1 and total aflatoxins. Every result: not detected.
How does Blaq test for aflatoxins? Independent laboratories accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 tested the green beans of Ethiopia Kayon and Peru Palto. Each report is linked on its coffee's page. Coffees without a report say so.
You can read the full picture of what we test for, and why, in our standard. The reports themselves live with each tested coffee in the shop.
