Dark roast coffee seems to stop harmful clumps in the brain better than light roast coffee, and scientists think it’s because the darker roasting creates special compounds called phenylindanes.

Dark roast coffee seems to stop harmful clumps in the brain better than light roast coffee, and scientists think it’s because the darker roasting makes more of a special compound called phenylindane.

Dark roast coffee has a special compound that might stop two harmful proteins in the brain from clumping together, which could be good for brain health.

Even without caffeine, dark roast coffee can still stop harmful clumps in the brain from forming—so it’s not the caffeine doing the job, but other chemicals created when the coffee is roasted.

Even when there’s a lot more caffeine than the sticky proteins in the brain, it doesn’t stop those proteins from clumping together — so caffeine probably isn’t the main reason coffee might help prevent brain clumps.

When coffee beans are roasted, they make a chemical called phenylindane that might stop harmful clumps in the brain—linked to Alzheimer’s—from forming, at least in test tubes.