Counter Culture Apollo Organic Medium Roast Whole Bean

1. Beans & farming 25% of the rating 5 of 5

   USDA’s organic listing names Apollo. Each roast-date window on the page names its washed Ethiopian lots, and the page publishes what Counter Culture pays per pound ($4.01 FOB, against a $3.89 Fair Trade minimum).

2. Independent testing 35% of the rating 2 of 5

   No lab results are published. The organic certification covers farming, not mold toxins or metals. The one independent test we found is of a different Counter Culture coffee, Forty-Six.

3. Roast & packaging 15% of the rating 4 of 5

   Whole beans only. The maker says each bag prints a Roasted On and a Best By date; we have not held a bag. It does not say what the bag is made of.

4. Trust 10% of the rating 4 of 5

   Says it has been a B Corp since 2020 (Target’s page lists it too; B Lab’s directory would not open for us), no recalls or Prop 65 notices found, and it publishes its coffee prices. It answers the mold question with a process description and no numbers.

5. Value 15% of the rating 4 of 5

   About $1.67 an ounce at 12 oz, in the middle of the range here ($1.33 to $2.42 an ounce). The 5 lb bag works out to about $1.29.

The rating, 3.6 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank coffee and our standard.

• Amazon (opens in a new tab) approx. $14.44 for one 12 oz bag. Sold and shipped by Whole Foods Market through Amazon, with the same barcode as Counter Culture’s own 12 oz bag. Counter Culture’s own Amazon listing sells two bags for approx. $33.
• Whole Foods Market (opens in a new tab) approx. $14.86 for one 12 oz bag (at the “Lamar” store the page defaulted to; prices vary by store). The page is titled for the 12 oz Apollo bag and shows it in stock at that store.
• Target (opens in a new tab) approx. $16.29 for one 12 oz bag. Sold by Target, not a marketplace seller. Listed as organic and a certified B Corp.

Prices as we saw them on October 23, 2026. They change often. These links carry no tracking code and earn us nothing.

1. 100% certified organic, washed Ethiopian coffee

• Paid certification USDA National Organic Program, through CCOF (a certifier Counter Culture pays) October 2026

  Lists Counter Culture Coffee as an organic handler, with Apollo and Slow Motion named in its scope. Organic rules cover farming inputs and handling, not mold toxins, heavy metals or pesticide residue levels. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Independent Clean Label Project (a nonprofit that also runs a separate certification program for brands); coffees bought at retail August 2025

  Not Apollo: Counter Culture’s organic dark roast Forty-Six was among the 16 lowest-scoring of 57 coffees for heavy metals, pesticides, glyphosate, BPA and BPS, phthalates and acrylamide. Ranks only, no numbers, and mold toxins were not one of the six scored categories. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Does Counter Culture test for mold toxins?

It publishes no results. Its FAQ (opens in a new tab) describes a prevention-first approach: coffee dried to 12.5% moisture or less, stored dry and roasted. For scale, a 2024 review of 40 studies (opens in a new tab) found ochratoxin A in 54.6% of 3,256 coffee samples, with only two studies reporting average roasted-coffee levels above the EU limit and estimated intakes under the tolerable daily intake. Washed coffees such as Apollo tend to carry less (see our mold toxin guide).

Is organic coffee free of pesticide residue?

No. Clean Label Project (opens in a new tab) found AMPA, a glyphosate breakdown product, in every organic coffee it tested in 2025, though glyphosate itself turned up in only two of 57 coffees. Forty-Six, an organic Counter Culture coffee, still ranked among its cleanest 16. Apollo was not tested.

Is the roast date real?

Counter Culture’s freshness guide (opens in a new tab) says every bag prints a Roasted On and a Best By date and tells you to go by the roasted-on date. The product page also lets you look up the blend by roast date. We have not held a bag.

Is every Counter Culture coffee organic?

No. Its FAQ (opens in a new tab) says it sells organic and conventional coffees, and points to a separate organic menu. Apollo’s page says organic, and USDA’s listing names it.

• USDA’s Organic Integrity Database lists Counter Culture Coffee (Durham, North Carolina) as certified through CCOF (status effective 16 December 2021, profile updated 19 October 2026). The scope names “Apollo”, its decaf “Slow Motion” and dozens of other coffees.
• The product page says Apollo is made only from certified organic, washed Ethiopian coffees, and lists the named lots in each roast-date window, such as Worka Chelbessa, Ayla Bombe and Duromina.
• It publishes what it pays per pound of green coffee: $4.01 FOB for Apollo, against $3.89 for Fair Trade’s minimum and $3.29 for the average market price.
• Counter Culture’s freshness guide says it prints both a “Roasted On” and a “Best By” date on its bags, and tells you to go by the roasted-on date.

• We found no lab results for Apollo, or any Counter Culture coffee: no mold-toxin, pesticide or heavy-metal report. Its FAQ describes how it controls moisture, not what a lab found.
• The roasted-on date is the maker’s statement. We have not held a bag, and we could not find what the bag is made of.
• Organic does not mean residue-free. Clean Label Project found AMPA in every organic coffee it tested in 2025.
• Counter Culture sells organic and conventional coffees side by side, so check the label on the bag you pick.

1. Counter Culture Coffee: Apollo product page. Maker’s page. Seen 23 October 2026: $20 for 12 oz, organic, washed, named lots by roast date, FOB price. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
2. Counter Culture Coffee: Coffee Basics, Freshness (roasted-on and best-by dates). Maker’s page. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
3. Counter Culture Coffee FAQ (organic and conventional offerings, mold prevention, whole beans only). Maker’s page. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
4. Counter Culture Coffee: sustainability (B Corp since 2020). Maker’s page. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
5. USDA Organic Integrity Database: Counter Culture Coffee. Certifier or regulator listing. Checked 22 October 2026 (not re-opened on 23 October). The listing names Apollo and Slow Motion. It does not name Forty-Six. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
6. Clean Label Project: Coffee Clean Sixteen, 2025. Test report. Ranks 16 of 57 retail coffees by combined contamination scores. Includes Counter Culture’s Forty-Six. Clean Label Project says it may not share product-level results. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
7. Clean Label Project coffee study, August 2025. Test report. Source for the AMPA finding in organic coffees. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
8. A worldwide systematic review of ochratoxin A in various coffee products (Massahi et al., 2024). Independent source. PMID 39259858. Opened and checked. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
9. openFDA: food enforcement reports (recalling firm search). Certifier or regulator listing. Searched 23 Oct 2026: no matches. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
10. California Attorney General: Prop 65 60-day notice search. Certifier or regulator listing. Searched by alleged violator (exact phrase “Counter Culture”) on 23 Oct 2026: no notice. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
11. Amazon listing: Counter Culture Apollo, 12 oz (sold by Whole Foods Market). Independent source. Opened 23 October 2026: $14.44, UPC 663505003138, the same code as the 12 oz bag on Counter Culture’s site. The two-bag listing sold by Counter Culture (B0CT42Q18T) showed $33.00 the same day. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
12. Whole Foods Market listing and Target listing for Apollo, 12 oz. Independent source. Prices read 23 October 2026: Target $16.29 (from Target’s product data service), Whole Foods $14.86 at the “Lamar” store its page defaulted to. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Counter Culture Slow Motion (decaf) (opens in a new tab) Organic, and described as decaffeinated with the Swiss Water Process, also about $20 for 12 oz. Counter Culture’s organic listing names it.
• Fresh Roasted Coffee Organic Peru Organic with a roast-date sticker for about $16 for 12 oz. Its testing rests on the maker’s word.
• Purity Coffee FLOW Posts a lab report for mold toxins and was also tested by an independent lab, at about $29 for 12 oz.

• Organic vs. Conventional Article What the evidence actually shows about nutritional differences, pesticide exposure, and health outcomes when choosing organic over conventional food
• Molds in food and health risks Article How invisible mold toxins in grains, nuts, coffee, and dried foods accumulate in the body — and practical ways to reduce your exposure
• Coffee and Your Health Article What decades of research reveal about coffee's surprising benefits, who should be cautious, and how much is optimal