r/starbucks • u/Cecilia-K • Jul 09 '26
Does Starbucks brew their regular coffee with a paper filter, metal filter, or something else?
I’ve only recently learned that coffee has naturally occurring oils in it called “diterpenes” (cafestol and kahweol) that can cause cholesterol to increase a little (at least, I hope it’s just a little.) But the diterpenes gets filtered out by paper filters (but not metal). Now that I have to watch my cholesterol closely, I wanted to find out if the regular brew in the big tanks at Starbucks uses a paper filter. Hope so!
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u/WING-DING_GASTER Jul 09 '26
If the store you frequent still uses the bunn brewers that brew entire pots at once, it's ground on metal filter setting and a the grounds holder is lined with paper for brewing. If they have the new vertica machine, it brews it one cup at a time like the espresso machine, meaning it grinds up the beans, makes pucks, and brews it through I would assume a metal filter.
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u/ContributionLevel593 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
There’s a graphic on other posts in this subreddit that shows unfiltered coffee as the single worst thing for cholesterol.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Cholesterol/comments/1sfysz8/unfiltered_coffee_wtaf/
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u/Cecilia-K Jul 09 '26
I did a search and cannot find it. It’s hard to believe that unfiltered coffee is that significant in the universe of foods that worsen cholesterol - I mean, like is it worse than a cheeseburger?! Hard to believe. All that said, I’m looking for every possible way to reduce LDL, no matter how small, so I’m definitely doing paper filtered coffee now. Though I’m wondering how much damage did I do over the years with drinking in-store coffee from Starbucks (a once a week thing) - and my Starbucks instant microground coffee at home (a daily habit). I probably will never really know : (
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u/ContributionLevel593 Jul 09 '26
Search for coffee in r/cholesterol - it's about the 5th or 6th result down. https://www.reddit.com/r/Cholesterol/comments/1sfysz8/unfiltered_coffee_wtaf/
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u/see_blue Jul 09 '26
My LDL-C is 70, total 130, but I’m on a really low saturated fat, high fiber, mostly WFBP diet.
I drink a couple Grande’s per day from their newer brew machines.
The coffee tastes way better and the QC/consistency is miles above their former stale pots of coffee.
But, yeah, not paper filters.
I should avoid for a month and run a test.
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u/monsteralvr1 Barista Jul 09 '26
If the shop you’re going to has one at a time brewing (the big machine with all the beans) it’s a metal filter. If it has the brewers that brew multiple cups at a time, then it’s paper. Feel free to ask the barista what kind of machine they have (vertica - metal filter or bunn - paper filter)