The structure of cafestol and kahweol is nearly identical, differing in only in the degree of saturation of one conjugated bond to the furan ring.
The diterpenes occur largely as fatty acids esters, esterified at the primary hydroxyl group. Some cafestol and kahweol are extracted from ground coffee during brewing, but are largely removed from coffee by paper filters.
Diterpenes exhibit good stability at high temperatures, but they can form dehydro-derivative (dehydro-cafestol and dehydro-kahweol) in small amounts when roasting temperatures are raised.
Because coffee beans are high in cafestol and kahweol, ingestion of coffee beans or grounds on regular basis may also raise serum and LDL cholesterol.
Scandinavian-style boiled coffee and Turkish-style coffee contained the highest amounts, equivalent to 7.2 and 5.3 mg cafestol per cup and 7.2 and 5.4 mg kahweol per cup, respectively.
Cafestol and kahweol in coffee
