Negligible amounts of cholesterol-raising diterpenes in coffee made with coffee pads in comparison with unfiltered coffee

OBJECTIVE: To determine the amounts of the serum-cholesterol raising diterpenes cafestol and kahweol in coffee made with coffee pads and the Senseo coffee machine as opposed to filtered and unfiltered coffee. DESIGN: Observational. METHOD: In five cities in the Netherlands coffee was purchased in three major supermarkets resulting in a total of 30 samples of coffee pads. The levels of cafestol and kahweol were determined by gas chromatography. As controls, the diterpene levels in filtered and unfiltered coffee were also measured. RESULTS: Coffee prepared using coffee pads contained on average 0.76 mg/l cafestol (95% CI: 0.69-0.82) and 0.85 mg/l kahweol (95% CI: 0.77-0.94). Filtered coffee contained 0.76 mg/l cafestol (95% CI: 0.63-0.88) and 0.81 mg/l kahweol (95% CI: 0.63-0.99). Unfiltered coffee contained 72.5 mg/l cafestol (95% CI: 48.5-96.4) and 71.5 mg/l kahweol (95% CI: 45.0-98.1). CONCLUSION: Coffee prepared using coffee pads and the Senseo coffee machine contained minute levels of diterpenes comparable to those of filtered coffee. Its effect on serum-cholesterol levels is therefore likely to be negligible.