People often associate coffee with an unhealthy beverage because it has caffeine in it. Even though it can stimulate and give you more energy, many of us avoid it with health as its reason.

As for you who are in the middle of a gluten-free diet or have Celiac disease, which has a low tolerance to the gluten substance in a beverage or food, coffee maybe is something that you avoid.

It most likely gives you a problem. However, some of your friends may recommend the Maxwell House coffee, as it is promoted as a gluten-free coffee.

So, is that true? Is Maxwell House coffee gluten-free?

The Maxwell House Gluten Contamination

Is Maxwell House coffee gluten-free? The answer is not clear.

For safety, you should avoid the pre-grounded coffee product, like Maxwell House. This product was indeed marketed as pure coffee grounded. And, when it has the “pure” word in it, people will think that it is safe and healthy.

It also is tempting for people that need a gluten-free beverage. However, you must remember the essential thing about the gluten-free matter before you take any sip of Maxwell House coffee or any pre-grounded coffee product. It is cross-contamination.

Kraft admitted several years ago that one of its popular products, Folgers has a slight trace of gluten in it. Furthermore, with the manufacturing center at the same place as Maxwell House, there is also a risk of cross-contamination in it.

The other problem is the Keurig Kcups included in the Maxwell House package. People found out that this is not the actual cup produced by Keurig. It is only the cup that is compatible with the Keurig coffee maker. Therefore, there is also a risk of contamination because of this part of the product.

We don’t know how Kraft makes this part. It could have any trace of the ingredient that adds the gluten substance in the Maxwell House grounded beans before you put it in your coffee maker.

One more thing, Maxwell House is a processed coffee. It is not a pure coffee bean you can grind on your own. And during its processing stage, there is a huge risk that it gets contaminated by the gluten-containing ingredients. Therefore, we recommend you to avoid it, especially if you have Celiac disease.

Does All Coffee Have Gluten in It?

Knowing that even the gluten-free-marketed coffee brand has a big risk of gluten contamination, this question will mostly come in our mind. Is all coffee not gluten-free? The answer is no. Not all coffee has gluten in it, especially the pure bean one. According to Dr.

Stefano Guandalini, a CDF Medical Advisory Board member, there is no scientific evidence that coffee contains gluten ingredients. Therefore, it is safe to consume for you who have Celiac disease or have a gluten-free diet.

Furthermore, coffee beans don’t require the substance that can form the gluten. Gluten itself has two parts in it, which are gliadin and glutenin. These two substances have the main function to stimulate the starches storing to support the sprouts grow, where they need the nourishment the most.

This process is also known as germination. However, coffee beans don’t need that. For its germination stage, the coffee bean uses the other natural sugars substance.

However, the problem here is the cross-contamination. Therefore, to minimize the risk of gluten contamination, you can do a precaution act before you consume any coffee as follow:

• Buy the fresh and non-grounded coffee bean
  Even though the fresh non-grounded coffee bean is safe from gluten contamination, make sure you only buy the gluten-free certified product. There are many of them at the store. Find one that you think is the most reliable one.
• Grind the coffee bean with a non-shared coffee maker
  Indeed, you won’t get any side-effects from the fresh coffee bean. However, if you happened to share a room or live with other people, there is a risk of contamination if you also share the coffee maker that you use. Therefore, to prevent this from happening, make sure you use only one coffee maker, which is for making fresh coffee. It helps you to avoid any gluten contamination in your coffee.
• Check your body condition before consuming any coffee product
  Some people still have some problems after drinking coffee, even though they have done all the precaution steps that we mentioned above. Mostly, it happens because of a problem in your digestive system. It is not only people with Celiac disease that have it.

Normal people that don’t have any problem consuming gluten-containing products also have this kind of problem. Therefore, before you consume it, make sure you know you don’t have this problem.

Is There Any Alternative for Coffee with Gluten-Free Feature?

It is a little bit difficult to answer because not many products or ingredients have a similar effect and taste like coffee. As we all know, coffee contains caffeine. And, we have the CYP1A2 gene that tells your body, in this case, is the liver, to produce a specific enzyme called cytochromes. This enzyme will neutralize caffeine inside your body, which gives you the boost or hype effect.

Looking at that process, we can only find one product that you can use to substitute coffee and is also gluten-free. It is called roast chicory root. It is a plant that also has a bitter taste like a coffee bean. And, when it is roasted, you can use it similar to the coffee bean. It is also a gluten-free product, so you do not need to worry about the side effects.

Conclusion

Maxwell House is a gluten-free coffee product that you can find in the store. However, it still has the risk of gluten-contamination because of its pre-grounded process. Therefore, if you ask us whether this product has gluten or not, for safety, we will answer there is.

Moreover, enjoying the fresh bean that you grind is more delicious than a product like this. It is one of the pleasures that every coffee lover wants to feel, isn’t it?

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