If you have been reading Coffee Sapiens for a while, you know that coffee is much more than caffeine. It is an extraordinarily complex mixture of hundreds of bioactive compounds, and one of the compounds that has sparked the most debate in recent years within the scientific community is cafestol. A diterpene that appears naturally in the oils of the coffee bean, with an apparently negative side—it can raise LDL cholesterol—and another surprising side: anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and neuroprotective properties that researchers are still studying.
In this article I explain exactly what cafestol is, how it acts in your body, how much each brewing method contains, and what science says about whether you should worry or not.
What is cafestol?
Cafestol is a fat-soluble diterpene found naturally in the oils of coffee beans. It belongs to the same family of compounds as kahweol, another coffee diterpene with which it shares chemical structure and many of its properties. Both are present in the lipid fraction of the bean, that is, in its natural oils.
A Coffea arabica bean contains approximately 0.6% cafestol, while the robusta variety has half as much and minimal amounts of kahweol. This is already relevant: the coffee you usually drink in Spain—where espresso made with a blend of arabica and robusta predominates—has less cafestol than a pure specialty-grade arabica coffee.
Cafestol is not a toxic compound or something foreign to coffee. It has always been there; it is part of the bean’s natural composition. The problem—or the opportunity, depending on how you look at it—is that its concentration in the cup varies enormously depending on how we prepare coffee.
How cafestol acts in the liver
Here is the central mechanism that has put cafestol in the spotlight of cardiologists and nutritionists.
Cafestol is a farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist, which inhibits bile acid synthesis and increases cholesterol levels in the blood. Put more simply: cafestol interferes with a key receptor in the liver that normally converts cholesterol into bile acids so it can be eliminated. When that process slows down, cholesterol accumulates.
Cafestol interferes with FXR receptors in the liver, which reduces the elimination of bad cholesterol (LDL) and can increase its levels in the blood. In addition, it interferes with hepatic LDL receptors that normally help remove LDL from circulation, reducing its clearance and allowing it to accumulate.
The practical result is that LDL accounts for 80% of this increase. Cafestol is considered one of the most potent agents for raising LDL cholesterol among compounds present in food.
One specific finding that researchers have been able to measure: consuming 10 mg of cafestol daily for four weeks measurably increases total cholesterol.
Important nuance: these effects have been documented mainly in studies of prolonged consumption of unfiltered coffee. Most researchers are cautious when extrapolating these results to scenarios of moderate consumption, and point out that long-term prospective studies are needed to confirm a direct causal link between diterpenes and actual cardiovascular risk.
The brewing method changes everything
This is the point I most want to highlight, because this is where knowledge about cafestol becomes something useful and actionable.
Unfiltered coffee can contain 6-12 mg per cup, while paper-filtered coffee retains virtually all of it, leaving barely 0.02 mg per cup. The difference is enormous: we are talking about up to 600 times more cafestol in an unfiltered coffee than in a drip coffee with a paper filter.
These are the main methods ordered from highest to lowest cafestol content:
Boiled coffee and Turkish coffee — The highest levels. Scandinavian boiled coffee and Turkish coffee top the list (6-12 mg per cup). The coffee is boiled directly without filtration, allowing all the oils to pass freely. In terms of concentration per liter, cafestol content is highest in Turkish coffee, up to 88.7 mg/l.
French press — The full-immersion method favors maximum extraction of compounds and, although it uses a metal filter, this does not retain the oils. For French press, cafestol content is about 25 mg/l.
Moka pot (Italian coffee maker) — Intermediate level. With a moka pot, cafestol content is 37.5 mg/l.
Espresso — Espresso is a special case. The problem arises if you drink multiple espressos daily: three or four can add up to significant amounts. For espresso, the content is about 17 mg/l. A single espresso has a small volume (~30 ml), so the absolute amount per cup is moderate; the risk increases with repeated consumption.
Paper-filter drip coffee (V60, Chemex, drip coffee maker) — The most favorable method. Studies published in the Ochsner Journal confirm that unfiltered coffee contains approximately 7.2 mg of these diterpenes per cup, while paper filtration retains almost all of them. The paper filter acts as a physical barrier that retains the coffee oils and, with them, cafestol.
An important nuance about metal filters: if you make filter coffee with one of those metal mesh filters and do not add a paper filter, the effects would be as harmful as with French press coffee. In other words, the key is not having a filter, but that the filter be made of paper.
The other side of cafestol: beneficial properties
Here is the part that is talked about the least and that, in my opinion, is just as important for having a complete and honest view.
Cafestol and kahweol show surprisingly beneficial properties: they are known to have anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, anticancer, and antidiabetic activities. They also reduce inflammatory mediators and inhibit angiogenesis. In addition, cafestol has shown neuroprotective effects in Parkinson’s disease.
Kahweol and cafestol have strong antioxidant capacity and bioprotective properties, which suggests that they should also offer neuroprotection.
In vitro and in vivo studies have suggested that these compounds possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and even anticancer properties. More research is needed to confirm these findings and fully understand their impact on human health.
This last clarification is essential: the beneficial effects of cafestol are described mainly in laboratory studies (in vitro) and in animals. We still do not have human clinical trials that confirm these protective effects with certainty. Research is ongoing, but it would be incorrect to claim that cafestol directly prevents cancer or Parkinson’s in people.
What we can say is that the cafestol-health relationship is clearly bidirectional and complex, and that demonizing this compound without acknowledging its therapeutic potential would be an oversimplification.
Who should be more concerned about cafestol?
Not everyone faces the same risk with cafestol. There are groups for whom the choice of brewing method matters more:
People with high LDL cholesterol or diagnosed dyslipidemia.
If your doctor has already told you that you have high cholesterol, it makes a lot of sense to opt primarily for paper-filtered coffee and reduce consumption of Turkish coffee, boiled coffee, or French press. The effect of cafestol on LDL is well documented and relevant in this context.
People with high cardiovascular risk.
The same recommendations apply if you have a family history of cardiovascular disease or accumulated risk factors.
People who drink several espressos a day.
An espresso has a relatively low amount of cafestol per serving, but if you drink three or four a day, the accumulation can be relevant over time.
The rest of the healthy population.
For those without specific risk factors, moderate coffee consumption—regardless of the method—does not seem to be a cause for concern according to the available evidence. A meta-analysis involving 4 million participants concludes that moderate coffee consumption reduces the risk of death from heart disease by 17% and from diabetes by 24%. In that general context, the benefits of coffee outweigh the risks.
Conclusions: what science says (and what it does not say)
Cafestol is one of coffee’s most fascinating compounds because it perfectly embodies the duality that characterizes this beverage: it can be a problem or an advantage depending on who drinks it, in what amount, and how.
What the scientific evidence does robustly support:
- Cafestol raises LDL cholesterol through a well-described mechanism (inhibition of hepatic FXR receptors).
- Its concentration in the cup depends directly on the brewing method.
- A paper filter is the most effective way to reduce it almost completely.
- It has documented therapeutic potential in laboratory models (anti-inflammatory, anticancer, neuroprotective), although translation to humans has yet to be confirmed.
What science still does not say with certainty:
- Whether the LDL increase caused by cafestol in the context of habitual coffee consumption translates into greater real long-term cardiovascular risk (researchers themselves call for more prospective studies).
- Whether the beneficial effects observed in the laboratory also occur in humans with habitual coffee consumption.
At Coffee Sapiens, we always stand for an informed view of coffee. Neither alarmism nor uncritical enthusiasm. Cafestol deserves your attention—so you can understand what it does in your body and make conscious decisions about how you prepare your coffee. That is exactly what we have tried to give you here.
Frequently asked questions about cafestol
Does decaf also have cafestol?
Yes. Cafestol is unrelated to caffeine: it is a fatty compound present in the oils of the coffee bean. Decaf retains its cafestol content, and the amount in the cup still depends on the brewing method.
Does espresso have a lot of cafestol?
It has a moderate concentration, but the small volume of the cup (about 30 ml) means that the absolute amount per serving is not especially high. The problem can appear if you drink three or four espressos a day on a continuous basis.
Does capsule coffee have cafestol?
It depends on the capsule design. Most espresso capsules (Nespresso-type or compatible) do not include a paper filter, so cafestol passes into the cup similarly to traditional espresso.
Does cold brew have cafestol?
Yes, and it can have relevant amounts if it is prepared without a paper filter. If it is filtered well at the end of the process with a paper filter, the level drops considerably.
Should I stop drinking coffee because of cafestol?
For most healthy people who consume coffee in moderation, the answer is no. If you have high cholesterol or cardiovascular risk, the most reasonable recommendation—always consult your doctor—is to choose paper-filtered coffee instead of eliminating coffee from your diet.
At Coffee Sapiens, we like to stay precisely at that point where curiosity meets evidence. If this article has helped you better understand what cafestol does in your body and how the way you brew coffee influences it, mission accomplished: drinking coffee can also be a way of getting to know yourself a little better. Thank you for joining us on this journey through science, the cup, and pleasure. We will keep exploring with you everything that makes coffee such a fascinating beverage.
Soy Javier Romero, especialista en Marketing Digital, Coffee Lover y redactor de Coffee Sapiens.
Bienvenidos a Coffee Sapiens. Somos un medio digital independiente dedicado a la divulgación, análisis y cultura del café.