A latte in a white cup and saucer with a hemp leaf in the foam art

Can You Infuse Coffee Beans with CBD?

Lately, it seems that CBD infused drinks are all the rage among consumers. But are they really worth it? Is your CBD really effective if it’s infused into a coffee, seltzer, or any other type of drink? Even though coffee beans can be infused with CBD, it may not be the most effective way to get in your daily CBD intake. Let’s look at whether you can infuse your coffee beans with CBD as well as some of the pros and cons to taking your CBD this way.

Is Infusing Coffee Beans a Realistic Way to Take CBD?

A bottle and box of CBD + CBG oil on a purple background with orange slices dispersed around it.

Infusing CBD into coffee is the latest trend to gather a lot of hype in the cannabis industry. In fact, many brands are experimenting with other ways to use CBD that don’t come in the form of oils, gummies, topical creams, salves, or soft gels. Instead, what they are coming up with are seltzers, coffees, and other forms in which you wouldn’t normally see CBD. 

If you’re like most people, you drink coffee to help you stay awake and make it through your day. The scientific breakdown of what happens when you drink coffee is that caffeine molecules bind to your brain’s A1 receptors. Interestingly, your brain cannot distinguish between the caffeine molecules and the neurochemical adenosine that makes you feel tired. Therefore, when you drink coffee, you’re tricking your brain into keeping your body awake. 

Now when you think of CBD, you most likely think of a natural supplement that you can use to help you feel more relaxed during the day or night. Therefore, it almost feels counterproductive to blend coffee with CBD. Even if you’re drinking coffee as a way to help you relax, the fact of the matter is that there’s still caffeine in there that packs a jolt. It’s a fact that everyone’s body reacts differently to CBD, and there’s really no telling what kind of experience people will have when they drink coffee that’s been brewed from CBD-infused beans. It’s possible that coffee and CBD could potentially counteract each other. That’s why your best bet is to drink your coffee on its own, separate and apart from using a top-quality CBD oil.

Why are People Trying CBD-Infused Coffee?

Someone dropping CBD oil into their coffee which sits on a table next to a hemp bud

The short answer to this question is that people have a natural curiosity to want to try new things. The long answer is that people have been hearing about CBD in the news or have come across it in some way in their daily lives and figured that CBD coffee was an easy way to dip their toes into the water. Since coffee is a part of most everyone’s everyday lives, for some, this is a seemingly easy way to try CBD. However, when you add high heat to CBD it decreases its efficacy. Therefore, it makes sense to think that CBD in hot coffee will not be as effective as if you were to just take CBD oil or gummies every day

How is CBD-Infused Coffee Made?

CBD needs to be carefully extracted from the cannabis plant so as not to destroy all of the cannabinoids, terpenes, and phytonutrients in it. Interestingly, the process of infusing coffee beans with CBD is not as simple as soaking the beans in CBD oil or adding a few drops of tincture into coffee grounds before brewing. Brands that make CBD-infused coffee use the natural oils from coffee beans as a CBD carrier. This method ensures that the natural taste of coffee will not be compromised in any way. Brands that sell CBD coffee have spent many years coming up with the perfect roasting process that enables CBD to be infused into coffee without sacrificing the coffee’s flavor. 

Are There Any Side Effects to CBD Coffee?

While there aren’t any serious side effects linked to CBD coffee, there are quite a few mild ones to watch out for. Some of the long-term effects of drinking CBD coffee could be: 

  • Dizziness
  • Insomnia
  • Headache
  • Diarrhea
  • Irritability
  • Nervousness
  • Muscle Spasms
  • Dehydration
  • Confusion
  • Dry Mouth
  • Low Blood Pressure
  • Drowsiness

As we stated earlier, if you love to drink your coffee hot, then there’s a good chance that you’ll degrade the cannabinoids, terpenes, and phytonutrients in the CBD by doing so. When CBD is extracted from the hemp and marijuana plant, it’s done so by using a special process — like the industry preferred CO2 process — that doesn’t use high temperatures. Extreme heat breaks down the molecular structure of CBD, which means it’s breaking down all of the goodness in the cannabis plant extract. 

Why You Shouldn’t Infuse Coffee Beans with CBD

A closeup of a woman pouring CBD gummies into her hand in front of a yellow background.

Even though it’s interesting and fun to try new products, CBD coffee isn’t one of the best ones to use. If you want to get the most out of your CBD, then the best way to do that is to use it as an oil, gummy, tincture, topical cream, soft gel, or salve that’s been carefully crafted by a reputable and respected brand. When looking for a top-quality product from a trusted brand, you should carefully research where the brand sources its hemp and whether it uses an independent lab to test all of its products. Additionally, you should also read those third-party lab reports and any verified customer reviews that the brand posts on its website. 

If you’re thinking of making your own CBD-infused coffee, then you may want to press pause on that idea. Not only will you possibly damage the CBD through coffee that’s too hot, but also you may have a difficult time trying to figure out what the right dosage of CBD is per cup or per pot of coffee. Just to keep things simple in life, the best way to have the best of both worlds is to take your CBD separately from your morning cup of coffee and not blend the two together. When you take your CBD on its own, you’ll be able to more effectively take advantage of all those amazing cannabinoids, terpenes, and phytonutrients that the hemp plant has to offer.