The seeds of the coffee fruit also referred to as the coffee cherry, are what are known as coffee beans. Typically, these seeds that resemble beans are dried, roasted, and brewed to make coffee.
You may wonder if eating coffee beans has the same effect as drinking coffee because it has been shown to have many health advantages, including a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes and liver disease.
Can you eat coffee beans? In fact, the traditional way to consume coffee beans was by eating them. Although it is safe to eat coffee beans, too much should not be consumed. They contain a ton of antioxidants and caffeine, which may give you more energy and reduce your risk of contracting certain diseases. However, an excessive amount may have negative side effects.
Continue reading if you want to learn more about coffee beans.
Read More: How to Grind Coffee Beans?
Basic Safety Of Coffee Beans
Coffee beans have been consumed for at least a thousand years.
It is thought that before coffee was developed as a beverage, its beans were often mixed with animal fat and consumed to boost energy levels
Coffee beans offer the same nutrients as a cup of coffee but in a much more concentrated form.
You only get a portion of the caffeine and other ingredients found in the whole bean when drinking regular coffee because it has been filtered and watered down.
Additionally, eating coffee beans as opposed to drinking coffee may speed up the absorption of caffeine through the mouth lining.
When coffee beans are consumed whole, both their positive and negative effects are accentuated.
Coffee beans should therefore only be consumed occasionally.
However, green coffee beans—which are raw—are not the most enjoyable food to eat. They can be difficult to chew and have a bitter, woody flavor. Coffee beans that have been roasted are a little softer.
You can easily find chocolate-covered, roasted coffee beans in your neighborhood grocery store.
Is It Safe To Eat Coffee Beans?
Although it is safe to eat coffee beans, you shouldn’t cram your mouth with them, especially if you’ve never tried them before. Coffee beans are high in acidity and caffeine, but they are also secure. Caffeine can make you feel excessively jittery and queasy when consumed in excess, and coffee’s high acid content can upset your stomach and cause indigestion.
How Does Coffee Beans Taste?
It should be noted that we do not advise consuming green or unroasted coffee beans. Although unroasted coffee beans are more difficult to bite into and chew than roasted beans, eating them is completely safe. In addition, a lot of people might not like the flavor of unroasted beans. Unroasted coffee beans have an earthy, grassy flavor and are more acidic than roasted coffee beans. This is so that the woody, nutty, smoky, caramel flavors that are present in the beans can be brought out by roasting.
While most coffee drinkers prefer roasted beans, on the other hand. Any coffee enthusiast will salivate at the mouthwatering flavor and slightly gritty texture of whole beans. However, the specific roast of the beans themselves does affect the flavor. Choosing the roast, which ranges from light to dark, will also determine how much of the coffee’s flavor has been emphasized. Most people tend to prefer medium or darker roasts because they have a stronger flavor and more oils in them.
How Much Caffeine Is In Coffee Beans?
There is about 6 mg of caffeine in an arabica coffee bean and about 12 mg in a robusta coffee bean.
I don’t know how much caffeine is in a coffee bean, but I do know that some caffeine is lost during the brewing process. So to get the same caffeine kick you’ll eat fewer beans than you would brew.
Not all of the caffeine in the coffee that is brewed makes it into your cup. The grounds of the coffee have some caffeine left over.
How much caffeine is lost? The amount of caffeine in your cup decreases with the size of your grind and the speed of your brew method. This is because more caffeine is extracted when the grind size is smaller and the steeping time is longer in hot water.
So eating the beans will give you more caffeine – bean for bean, than brewing them.
How Many Coffee Beans Can You Eat Per Day?
It’s safe (in terms of caffeine) to eat around 20 to 30 per day as long as you’re not pregnant or sensitive to caffeine.
And break that down into around 7-10 beans per serving, which would be roughly the amount of caffeine in a regular 8 oz cup of coffee. That is the quick response.
The long answer is:
The amount of caffeine in the coffee beans is probably the main factor to consider when determining how much to consume.
According to Mayo Clinic, an average person who is not sensitive to caffeine and not pregnant can safely consume up to 400mg a day. That’s the amount in roughly 4 cups of coffee. That is an 8 oz cup, not a large 16+ oz mug, which is what most people use for coffee.
I don’t know about you, but four large mugs of coffee would be excessive for me and many people I know. My maximum would be two or three.
So because each arabica bean has around 6mg of caffeine we’re going to say that it would not be wise to assume it’s safe to eat around 66 coffee beans (400mg divided by 6mg) a day. Not that anyone would actually want to, anyway.
Dark chocolate, which has more caffeine than milk or light chocolate, is typically used to cover coffee beans eaten as snacks.
The amount of caffeine is therefore increased when eating chocolate-covered coffee beans. Let’s say it almost doubles it to be on the safe side.
Potential Benefits Of Coffee Beans
Few studies have looked at the effects of eating coffee beans, despite the fact that many have looked at the advantages of drinking coffee.
However, eating the beans probably offers some of the same advantages as drinking the beverage. The following are some possible advantages of snacking on coffee beans.
An Easily Absorbed Caffeine Source
Coffee and tea both contain caffeine, a naturally occurring stimulant.
Eight coffee beans usually contain the same amount of caffeine as one cup of coffee.
In comparison to liquid coffee, your body absorbs caffeine from whole coffee beans more quickly.
There are many benefits to caffeine’s impact on your brain and central nervous system. The energy, alertness, mood, memory, and performance benefits of this substance, for instance, are numerous.
According to one study, a 30-minute nap was not more effective at reducing driving errors than drinking two cups of coffee with 200 mg of caffeine, or the equivalent of about 17 coffee beans.
A 60-mg dose of caffeine, which is equivalent to one espresso or five coffee beans, was found to improve contentment, mood, and attention in a different study.
Adenosine, a hormone that makes people drowsy and exhausted, is inhibited by caffeine.
Increasing metabolism may help with weight loss and exercise performance.
An Excellent Source Of Antioxidants
Strong antioxidants are abundant in coffee beans, with chlorogenic acid, a family of polyphenols that promote good health, being the most prevalent.
Chlorogenic acid may lower your risk of developing diabetes and reduce inflammation, according to studies. It may also have cancer-fighting abilities, according to some studies.
Depending on the type of bean and roasting techniques, different coffee beans have different amounts of chlorogenic acid.
Although coffee beans are still regarded as one of the best dietary sources, roasting can cause a 50–95% loss of chlorogenic acid.
Other Potential Benefits
Observational studies have connected coffee to many health advantages, such as a decreased risk of the following:
- Death from all causes
- Heart disease and stroke
- Certain cancers
- Liver illnesses, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, liver fibrosis, and liver cirrhosis
- Type 2 diabetes
- Brain disorders, such as depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease
More evidence from both human and animal studies points to the possibility that people with high blood pressure may benefit from using green coffee bean extract.
However, keep in mind that these advantages are based on observational studies rather than rigorous controlled trials. Therefore, additional research is required before definitive conclusions can be made.
Side Effects Of Coffee Beans
Both eating the beans and drinking the beverage made from them may have some side effects, as was already mentioned.
Some of the following side effects may be worse because more of the acid and caffeine remains in the bean when eaten directly.
Moderation is key.
The following side effects are typically only experienced if the recommended daily caffeine intake (400mg) is exceeded.
The following are some possible negative effects of consuming coffee beans:
- Sleeping problems
- Heartburn
- Nervousness/anxiety (possible tremors)
- Digestive issues (pain, possible diarrhea)
Unless you have a sensitive stomach or are sensitive to caffeine, staying within recommended amounts (see suggested serving size listed earlier in this post) usually won’t result in any issues.
How To Prepare Coffee Beans At Home
There are numerous recipes available for you to experiment with if you want to try your hand at creating some tasty coffee bean dishes at home. Clean up your kitchen, gather your ingredients, and buckle up because we’re about to introduce a whole new level of coffee addiction!
The Basic Beans
There are also traditional coffee beans, of course. These are perfectly fine in our eyes for some coffee addicts to consume exactly as they are. You will enjoy the convenience of skipping a step in the preparation of coffee beans for consumption if you enjoy the simplicity of just the coffee beans themselves. Selecting your preferred roast is the only requirement for this.
Chocolate-covered Coffee Beans
Chocolate-covered coffee beans are the most cherished recipe in the coffee bean-eating community because they combine two of the most addictive sweet treats in the world. You’ll need your preferred chocolate, whole roasted coffee beans (a medium or a dark roast is recommended), a microwave, a baking sheet and parchment paper, a fridge or freezer, and all of these items to start making this delectable treat.
First, break up your chosen chocolate and melt it in the microwave (a double broiler will also do just fine). Once all of the chocolate has melted, take the pan off the heat, let it cool slightly, and then start dipping the coffee beans in the mixture. Place the bean on the baking tray’s parchment paper after it has been covered. Following the chocolate-dipping and plating of all the beans, place the tray in the refrigerator for two hours or the freezer for one hour to cool. You can remove them from the tray and start snacking once they have hardened.
Dirty Chai Chocolate-covered Coffee Beans
This recipe uses a variety of herbs and spices to give you a delicious dirty-chai twist on flavor, similar to the traditional recipe for chocolate-covered coffee beans. Cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, and ground cloves are a few of the spices you’ll require. You’ll need 2 cups of chocolate, 1 cup of roasted beans, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ginger, 1/4 teaspoon each of cardamom, black pepper, and ground cloves, and 1 teaspoon each of all of those spices.
The only difference between these chocolate-covered dirty chai beans and chocolate-covered coffee beans is the addition of spices to the chocolate.
Ways To Eat Coffee Beans
Unquestionably, roasted, whole, and covered in chocolate coffee beans are the most popular form of consumption. Are coffee grounds edible, though?
Ground coffee and coffee grounds are two different things. Coffee grounds should be thrown away or used for compost, but freshly ground coffee can be used in many ways.
Here are five ways to include coffee beans or ground coffee in your diet if that sounds appealing to you:
- Grind them up fine and add them to your smoothies. Banana and strawberry smoothies come to mind when thinking of sweet or creamy fruit drinks. A pinch or two will do the trick
- Add chocolate-covered coffee beans to a snack mix. Make an energized trail mix with 6 or 7 beans per serving for a great boost in energy.
- Include ground, roasted beans as a dessert topping, they go especially well with anything sweet and chocolaty. On top of your coconut cream pie or your chocolate ice cream, add a pinch or two of a fine grind.
- Add ground coffee beans to your favorite dessert recipes. It would be best to grind this finely and use it similarly to how you would use cinnamon. Think of desserts with chocolate, like brownies or chocolate cake.
- Snack on chocolate-covered coffee beans. The most common choice, and perhaps you’d prefer to make them yourself.
A pinch or two of ground coffee beans will do in a smoothie or as a dessert topping when consumed, as the saying goes.
Coffee beans can be really hard so it’s best to use a fine or very small grind when eating them this way. As chocolate-covered beans it’s different because you’re ready for the crunch so it’s not a big deal, also the beans are dry and stay crunchy.
The Bottom Line
Can you eat coffee beans, do you think? Yes, according to me. Dark chocolate-covered ones are my preferred method of consumption.
Coffee beans can even be used medicinally in addition to being perfectly edible. Coffee beans are a beneficial addition to your diet as long as there are no extenuating circumstances, such as pregnancy, acid reflux, or high cholesterol.
Please leave a comment on this post if you would like to share a recipe or favorite brand.