Mold Toxins in Coffee: Why Organic Isn't Enough | TUH #311

What if I told you that the thing you look forward to every single morning, your coffee, could contain toxins produced by mold and you'd have absolutely no idea? Coffee is a fruit. What we call the bean is actually the seed inside of a coffee cherry. That fruit gets picked, processed, dried, stored, put into bags, transported, stored again, and then it's roasted and eventually it ends up in your kitchen. So you've got an agricultural product plus moisture plus storage plus time. What can grow under the wrong conditions? Mold. And certain molds produce toxins. Mold can leave behind toxins in coffee And your senses can't tell whether they're there. And then I found a number that just stopped me. 2024 systemic review looked at more than 3,000 coffee samples. A toxin produced by mold called ochratoxin A was detected in 54.6% of them, more than half. And once I knew that, I couldn't unknow it. And eventually I realized the coffee I was looking for was the coffee I was going to have to create. That's how— Ultimate Human. What if I told you that the thing you look forward to every single morning, your coffee, could contain toxins produced by mold and you'd have absolutely no idea? You wouldn't see it, you wouldn't smell it, you wouldn't even taste it. You'd wake up tomorrow, make your coffee exactly the same way you always do, take that first sip, and never think twice about it. I didn't either. And I've spent years telling people to test virtually everything that goes into their body. So how did I miss coffee? Let me tell you what happened. I've looked at thousands and thousands of people's labs, and I've had people sitting right across from me saying, Gary, I'm exhausted. I can't think clearly. I've got headaches. I wake up tired, more tired than I went to bed. I just feel like crap. There can be hundreds of reasons why somebody feels that way, but when someone's history or testing gives us a reason to investigate possible mold exposure, I want to find the source. So we start looking. Did you have water damage, a leak? What's happening with air conditioning? Is there something in your office? Where are you spending your time? What are you being exposed to over and over again? And then one day I realized something. Maybe we're asking the wrong question. We're asking, what are you breathing every day? But what about what are you drinking every day? And that's when I started looking at coffee. Here's something most people don't know. Coffee is a fruit. What we call the bean is actually the seed inside of a coffee cherry. That fruit gets picked, processed, dried, stored, put into bags, transported, stored again, and then it's roasted, and eventually it ends up in your kitchen. So you've got an agricultural product plus moisture plus storage plus time. What can grow under the wrong conditions? Mold. And certain molds produce toxins. Those toxins are called mycotoxins. Mm-hmm. Forget the word. Here's what matters: mold can leave behind toxins in coffee, and your senses can't tell whether they're there. That's what sent me into research. And then I found a number that just stopped me: 54.6%. A 2024 systemic review looked at more than 3,000 coffee samples. A toxin produced by mold called ochratoxin A was detected in 54.6% of them— more than half. I remember reading that and just thinking, Wait a minute. I've been drinking coffee every morning for decades. Has anybody ever tested mine? I didn't know. So I went to my coffee, picked up the bag, turned it around. Nothing. I could tell you where it came from. I could tell you the roast. I could tell you I was apparently supposed to taste chocolate and berries, but I couldn't tell you whether anybody had tested it for mold. That's when this became a problem for me. So then I discovered mold wasn't the only thing I should be asking about. Let's talk about heavy metals. Here's something nobody else talks about when you talk about coffee. Some of the best coffee-growing regions in the world are around volcanic areas. Why? Because the soil can be incredibly fertile, mineral-rich, amazing for growing coffee, which sounds great until you ask what's actually in that soil. Because depending on the geology, soils can also naturally contain metals, lead, cadmium, and arsenic. And coffee is a plant. It interacts with the soil that it grows in. So researchers have measured heavy metals in coffee at varying concentrations. That doesn't mean every cup of coffee contains dangerous levels. That's not my point. My point is, do you know what's in yours? Because I didn't. And here's the irony that really got me. I filter my water. A lot of you probably filter your water and then take that perfectly filtered water every morning and pour it over coffee you've never tested. You're worried about the water, but what about the coffee? So now I'm standing in the kitchen looking at this bag completely differently. Mold testing, can't find it. Heavy metal testing, can't find it. Pesticides? Didn't know. Glyphosate? Didn't know. Nothing on the bag. But don't worry, I know I'm supposed to taste caramel. That's when I realized I was actually breaking my own rule. Don't guess, test. I tested blood, I tested water, I looked at biomarkers. I'm incredibly particular about supplements, but one of the first things I put into my body every morning, I had been guessing for decades. And once I knew that, I couldn't unknow it. So I started looking at coffee differently. And everybody tells me, Gary, I buy really expensive coffee. Okay, it's expensive. That doesn't answer my question. It's organic. Doesn't answer my question either. And this is important. Organic coffee and coffee that's been tested for mold, toxins, and heavy metals are not the same thing. I wanted organic, absolutely. But I also wanted somebody to say, here's the laboratory report, show it to me, and that's it. And eventually I realized the coffee I was looking for was the coffee I was going to have to create. That's how The Ultimate Brew started. Not because I wanted a coffee company. I didn't. I wanted coffee I could drink every morning without guessing. So we sourced USDA organic, 100% Arabica coffee from Tolima, Colombia. High elevation, washed, and then sun-dried. Then we did the thing I couldn't verify about the coffee I'd been drinking. We tested it. Mold toxins, heavy metals, lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, pesticides, glyphosate. And on our tested lot, The tested mycotoxins and heavy metals came back below the laboratory's reporting limits. But here's the thing: I don't want you to believe me. Seriously, don't. There's a QR code on the bag. Scan it. Look at the results yourself. Because if any company tells you our coffee is clean, I want your immediate response to be show me. Show me the test. That's the standard. And I want you to do something for me tomorrow morning before you make your coffee. Look at the bag. Don't throw it away because you listen to this podcast. Don't panic. Just investigate. Has it been tested for mold toxins? Has it been tested for heavy metals? Can you actually see the results? Maybe the answer is yes. Fantastic. Keep drinking it. But if your answer is, I have no idea, then at least tomorrow you'll know something you didn't know today. You've been guessing. And for something you're putting in your body every single morning, I think you deserve better than a guess. That's why I'm so excited about this first release. The first lot of the Ultimate Brew drops October 7th exclusively at Sprouts Farmers Market. And I want to explain the word lot. Coffee is agriculture. It comes in batches. We source a lot, we roast it, we test it, and then we release it. And when that lot's gone, we don't just turn a machine back on and make more tomorrow. We work through the next lot, and we're going to put it through the same process before I put my name on it. So yes, there will be more Ultimate Brew, but this lot is finite. And when it's gone, there may be a window before the next tested lot is ready. I'm okay with that. I'm not sacrificing the standard to keep the shelf full. From October 7th through October 27th, you'll find that first lot on the Ultimate Human end cap at Sprouts. And coffee is only a part of what we're doing there. We've brought together a curated collection of the products I use and talk about around the things you do consistently. Because here's something I've learned after looking at thousands of people: your health isn't determined by the thing you do once. It's the thing you do every single day. What you drink, What you eat, how you sleep, how you move, what do you supplement with, what do you repeatedly expose your body to? That's why coffee suddenly mattered to me, because for decades it was one of my most consistent inputs and I had never questioned it. So I'll leave you with this. I don't want you to be buying my coffee because Gary Brecka's name is on the bag. I want you to go look at the coffee you're drinking right now. Look for the mold testing, look for the heavy metals, ask for the laboratory results, and then make your own decision. If you want to try the coffee I created for myself, go to Sprouts beginning on October 7th. Find the Ultimate Human end cap, pick up the Ultimate Brew, and before you even put it in your cart, go ahead and scan the QR code. Look at the results. That's why it's there. Because the next time someone asks you, do you know what's in your morning coffee? I don't want your answer to be, I think so. I want it to be, I know. Don't guess. Test. That's just science.