Written by:
Dušan Matičič
Head of coffee and Head roaster at GOAT STORY

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Every now and then, a word starts floating around the coffee world that sounds like it belongs in a chemistry lab, not in your morning cup. Acrylamide is one of those words.

As someone who spends most of his days around roasting drums, green beans, and cupping tables, I’ve been asked more than once:
 “Is acrylamide in coffee something we should worry about?”
Let’s unpack it properly — calmly, honestly, and with context.

First: What Is Acrylamide?

Acrylamide is a chemical compound that forms naturally when certain foods are cooked at high temperatures. It’s created during the Maillard reaction — the same reaction that gives coffee its aroma, bread its crust, and fries their golden color.
In coffee specifically, acrylamide forms when an amino acid called asparagine reacts with naturally occurring sugars during roasting.

IMPORTANT:
 Acrylamide is not added to coffee. It’s a byproduct of roasting. If you roast food, you create it. That includes:
    •    Coffee
    •    Toast
    •    Potato chips
    •    French fries
    •    Crackers
    •    Breakfast cereals
It’s part of what happens when raw ingredients meet heat.

Why Does It Sound Scary?

In industrial settings, acrylamide is used in plastics and wastewater treatment. At very high exposure levels (far, very far beyond what you’d get from food), it has been linked to nerve damage and cancer in animal studies. Because of this, health agencies classify it as a “probable carcinogen” at high doses.

But here’s the part that often gets lost in headlines:
The amounts found in food — including coffee — are tiny compared to industrial exposure levels.

Dose matters.
Context matters.

How Much Acrylamide Is in Coffee Compared to Other Foods?

Let’s put things into perspective. Below are approximate acrylamide levels in different foods (values vary widely depending on preparation and brand):

Roasted coffee beans ~100–500 µg/kg (Higher early in roast, decreases with longer roasting)
Instant coffee ~500–900 µg/kg (Often higher due to processing)
French fries ~100–600 µg/kg (Depends heavily on frying time and temperature)
Potato chips / crisps ~200–2,000+ (One of the highest common sources)
Toasted bread ~25–1,400 µg/kg (Darker toast = more acrylamide)
Regular bread (untoasted) ~<10–300 (Much lower than toasted bread)
Breakfast cereals ~10–1,000 (Varies by grain and processing)
Crackers & biscuits ~20–650 µg/kg (Depends on baking conditions)

So yes, coffee contains acrylamide.
But it’s far from being the main contributor in most people’s diets. If you’re eating crispy fries and deeply toasted bread regularly, that likely contributes more than your flat white.

Roasting Both Creates and Reduces Acrylamide

This is where it gets fascinating from a roaster’s perspective.
Acrylamide forms early in the roasting process — when the beans are still light and the Maillard reaction is ramping up. But as roasting continues and temperatures rise further, acrylamide starts to break down.

Which means:
    •    Light roast → generally higher acrylamide
    •    Medium roast → lower
    •    Dark roast → typically the lowest

That sounds counterintuitive. Darker roast, less acrylamide?

Yes. Because extended heat exposure degrades it.

Now — before you switch everything to dark roast — remember:
The differences are measurable, but we’re still talking about very small absolute amounts. From a roasting standpoint, flavor development always comes first. But understanding how compounds behave during roasting is part of doing the job responsibly.

But we always want to be on the safe side of things. That's why we regularly have our coffees tested for presence of acrylamide, pesticides along with other chemical and microbiological threats.

It's something we need to do and is part of our HACCP routine. And I'm happy to say that coffee is - in general, not just GOAT STORY coffee - a product that is free of chemical or microviological threats.

I can only say this about specialty coffee though, as I do not have experience with lower quality coffees.

Does Brewing Method Matter?

Not really.
Brewing doesn’t create acrylamide — it only extracts what’s already present in the roasted bean.
Espresso, filter, immersion — they may extract slightly different amounts, but roasting is where acrylamide is formed (and reduced).

What Does Science Say About Coffee and Health?

This is important.
Large epidemiological studies consistently show that coffee consumption is associated with:
    •    Lower risk of certain cancers
    •    Reduced risk of type 2 diabetes
    •    Lower overall mortality in many populations

Coffee contains hundreds of compounds, including antioxidants like chlorogenic acids, that appear to have protective effects.
So when we zoom out and look at the full picture, coffee as a whole is generally considered safe — and often beneficial — for most people.
Acrylamide is one variable in a very complex equation.

As a Roaster, Here’s My Take

Roasting transforms green seeds into one of the most complex beverages on the planet.
It’s a controlled chemical storm — sugars caramelize, acids evolve, aromatics bloom, structure develops. Acrylamide is just one small byproduct of that transformation.

At GOAT STORY, we focus on:
    •    Thoughtful sourcing
    •    Precise roasting
    •    Transparent communication
    •    Flavor above all

Food safety and science are part of the craft — but fear without context doesn’t serve anyone.

If you’re deeply concerned and want to slightly minimize exposure?
 Choose a medium-to-dark roast. If you love light roast clarity and brightness?
 Enjoy it.
The difference is marginal compared to the overall quality of your diet.

The Bottom Line

Acrylamide in coffee:
    •    Forms naturally during roasting
    •    Peaks early in the roast
    •    Decreases with darker roasting
    •    Exists in much higher amounts in many fried and baked foods
    •    Has not been shown to make normal coffee consumption unsafe

Coffee isn’t perfect. Nothing is.

But in the bigger picture, your daily cup is not the villain.

If anything, it’s still one of the more studied — and reassuring — habits out there.
Now go enjoy your coffee. Make it a good one!

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YOU MADE IT THIS FAR

Let’s be honest — not everyone reads to the end of a blog post. Especially not one that talks about chemistry and roasting curves.

But you did.

That tells me two things:
1. You care about what’s in your cup.
2. You appreciate going a little deeper than the headline.

And that’s exactly the kind of coffee drinker we like.

So here’s a small thank-you — no dramatic marketing stunt, just something simple and honest:

Enjoy 20% off when you order any 2 (or more) bags of GOAT STORY coffee.

All roasted gently in-house. All profiled with intention. All designed for people who enjoy coffee without overcomplicating it.

And if you made it through this entire article, I’m guessing acrylamide isn’t keeping you up at night anyway.

Now go brew something good!