Q&A from the Bais HaVaad Halacha Hotline

Common Grounds

May 15, 2025

Q I had a non-Jewish repairman make himself a coffee in my Keurig machine. Will any coffee I make now be forbidden as bishul akum?

A If a non-Jew cooks food—even if it is otherwise kosher—it is bishul akum and not kosher. Many early authorities say it renders the utensil nonkosher, because it absorbed the taste (two opinions cited in Y.D. 103:16); the halacha follows this view (Aruch Hashulchan ibid. 3). Accordingly, it would appear that the Keurig should become nonkosher when used by a non-Jew. But is coffee even subject to bishul akum?

Only foods that meet two conditions are subject to bishul akum:

• It is oleh al shulchan melachim (fit to be served at the table of kings, i.e., at an elegant event), which excludes humble foods. Brewed coffee certainly meets this condition, as it is served to kings.
• It is inedible without cooking.

The Pri Chadash (Y.D. 112:17) argues that because the main ingredient of coffee is water (and for that reason, a shehakol is made on it rather than ha’eitz), it is not subject to bishul akum, as water does not meet the condition of requiring cooking in order to be palatable. The Panim Me’iros (2:62) disagrees, arguing that the coffee flavor is the highlight of the beverage, so it cannot be considered a secondary ingredient.

The Chasam Sofer (Avodah Zarah 31b) agrees with the Panim Me’iros’s premise but sides with the Pri Chadash regarding brewed coffee, because the coffee only provides flavor but isn’t tangible in the final product, so it cannot be deemed the primary component of the drink.

In practice, the Sheivet Halevi (2:42) relies on the Chasam Sofer’s ruling, so the Keurig machine’s coffee would be permitted. R’ Moshe Sternbuch (Teshuvos Vehanhagos 4:193) also permits it.

Interestingly, some poskim expressed hesitation about permitting coffee beans from a non-Jewish roaster, because roasting is a form of bishul. But the Teshuvos Vehanhagos (ibid.) cites R’ Akiva Eiger who permitted this, because the beans themselves are not oleh al shulchan melachim, only the final drink.