Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky

If you’re observant, everything on Passover — from ketchup to coffee — requires special certification, which is bad news for people who just can’t start their day without that rejuvenating cup of java.

In 2007 the Orthodox Union, that eminent Kosher institution tasked with certifying goods as kosher, declared coffee not automatically fit for Passover consumption.

Decaffeinated coffee is created by means of ethyl acetate, which has its roots in kitniyot or chametz. Instant coffees sinned by containing maltodextrin, which emerges from corn or wheat, kitniyot or chametz.

So, like everything on Passover, coffee is…complicated.

But now, for the first time ever, shmura matzo coffee is on the market. Manufactured by the most rigorous of religious standards, with constant supervision in every step of its creation, even the most scrupulous Passover-observer will be able to partake. Sure, you might be paying a premium for the certification on the label, and sure, it’s only available in Israel, so you might have to ship it to your place of residence, but at least your religious observance will be unimpeachable.

Unless you want to add some creamer. Then you might be in trouble again.

Shira Feder is a writer for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected]

This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.

This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.

With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Make a matched gift today.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT