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By Rabbi Dovid Cohen, Administrative Rabbinic Coordinator
Q. Is all coffee kosher?
A. Coffee beans are inherently kosher, and it is generally assumed that the roasting and percolating of coffee does not pose concerns of bishul akum. Therefore, at first glance, coffee seems to be free of kashrus concerns, and in many cases that is correct. In this article we will note some examples of where that is not true.
The simplest issue is that flavored coffee requires hashgachah, since the components of the flavor might be non-kosher. A related issue is that some companies have started fermenting their beans in (relatively empty) wine barrels or used other methods to impart a flavor to the beans, and beans which were processed in this way require hashgachah. A much rarer issue is that some producers realized that coffee beans which were digested by different animals have unusual properties that some people appreciate. This includes Black Ivory coffee (from elephant dung), Jacu (from the droppings of a specific Brazilian bird), and certain other types of very expensive coffee beans. There is halachic discussion about whether the kashrus of the beans is affected by their being ingested and excreted by a non-kosher animal. [Our discussion is limited to coffee made from coffee beans; the status of other coffee-like products made from chicory, mushrooms, or other items, is beyond the scope of this article.]
How about simple, unflavored coffee without any of the complications noted above? One may purchase unflavored coffee beans – whole or ground, regular or decaffeinated – without hashgachah.
What about instant coffee? To produce instant coffee, the company roasts the beans and then percolates them to create huge vats full of liquid coffee. The last step is to remove the water from that coffee, so that they can package it in powder form. One way to remove the water is through “freeze-drying”, which produces a higher quality product than if the company uses the alternative, “spray-drying”, to boil out the water. Generally, freeze-dried or spray-dried products require hashgachah, because the equipment might also be used for non-kosher foods. However, coffee companies typically have their own dryers which are used exclusively for coffee, and, therefore, this is not a concern. [As relates to Pesach, freeze-dried coffee is acceptable without hashgachah assuming it is not flavored and is not decaffeinated, but spray-dried coffee requires certification, since starch is something added to the liquid before it goes into the dryer.]
Things get more complicated when we move to buying a hot cup of coffee at a restaurant, convenience store, or coffee shop. The issue is that all the equipment used to create a cup of coffee – the coffee machine, carafe, etc. – must be washed, and the concern is that these items might be washed together with dishes and utensils used for non-kosher food. Whether this is a halachic concern is very dependent on the circumstances at the given store and requires guidance from a Rabbinic authority. These questions are further complicated when someone orders a latte, cappuccino, or some other more “advanced” coffee drink at one of these locations.*
This article first appeared in the Let’s Talk Kashrus column, Yated Ne’eman, October 2024.