Triglycerides in coffee

The lipid content of green arabica averages some 15% on a dry basis, whilst robusta contains much less around 10%. Most of the lipids the coffee oil, are located in the endosperm of the coffee bean while only a small amount, the coffee wax is in the outer layer.

Coffee oil is composed mainly of triglycerides with fatty acids in proportions similar to those found on common edible vegetable oils.

Arabica coffees contain 11.1 to 13.6% oil, whereas Robusta coffees contain only 4.4 to 4.8% oil. Apparently, there is even an increase of up to 20 percent in their levels in the roasted coffee. Triglycerides account for 70-80 percent of coffee oil’s content.

The relatively large unsaponifiable fraction is rich in diterpenes of the kaurane family, mainly cafestol, kahweol and 16.0 methylcafestol, which have received increasing attention in recent years because of their physiological effects.

For most part, the fatty acids are present as glycerol esters in the triglycerides, some 20% are esterified with diterpenes and a small proportion as sterol esters.
Triglycerides in coffee