Does Coffee Contain Cockroaches?
WouterThere are two common myths that surround coffee and cockroaches. The first is that coffee beans contain bugs. The truth is that coffee beans are not the source of cockroaches, but they do live in the coffee-processing process. The coffee-processing process involves massive piles of coffee beans that roaches find irresistible. As a result, cockroaches crawl into the piles in search of food, and in the process, they are ground up with the beans. The same process happens with chocolate, too.
Cockroaches don’t normally live in coffee itself, but they are attracted to garbage and food. The coffee that you buy in a coffee shop might contain a few cockroaches, but the percentage is low. Even if there are a few roaches in a single cup of coffee, they will not affect you negatively.
The truth behind the cockroaches-in-coffee myth is somewhat complicated. A professor of entomology at the University of Montana claims that cockroaches live in pre-ground coffee. But his advisor developed an allergy to cockroaches while handling them in his lab. Despite his claims, the FDA allows up to 10 percent of insects in coffee.
While roaches do not have a favorite type of coffee bean, they will eat any type of coffee, so dark or medium roast coffee isn’t a big deal. In fact, the coffee is a great way to trap cockroaches.
