Last updated on October 27th, 2023 at 14:38
I got an email from James posing the question “Does Eating Espresso Beans Give You Energy?” Thank you, James. That is a two-part question — to answer it fully, correctly and completely.
There is the aspect of eating coffee beans, how much caffeine is in chocolate covered espresso beans? — What I think he was hinting at and how many calories are in one chocolate covered espresso bean? – something I guess Weight Watchers and ladies looking after themselves are more concerned with.
To get straight to it, the answer is simply yes, an emphatic yes!
Eating espresso beans does give you energy; in fact the energy content is on par with drinking a cup of coffee. An average cup of coffee contains approximately 95 milligrams of caffeine.
An average serving of Starbucks chocolate covered espresso beans yields a greater caffeine content of 150 to 200 milligrams when shared with the 200 mg, assuming a straight 50-50 split of the 50 gram packet.
Does Eating Espresso Beans Give You Energy? — Let’s Talk About Edible Espresso Beans
Table Of Contents
- 1 Does Eating Espresso Beans Give You Energy? — Let’s Talk About Edible Espresso Beans
- 2 How Much Caffeine In Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans?
- 3 Frequently Asked Questions About Does Eating Espresso Beans Give You Energy
- 3.1 Does Eating Espresso Beans Give You A Caffeine Boost?
- 3.2 What Happens If You Eat An Espresso Bean?
- 3.3 Are There Any Benefits To Eating Espresso Beans?
- 3.4 Can You Absorb Caffeine By Eating Coffee Beans?
- 3.5 Is It OK To Chew Coffee Beans?
- 3.6 Can You Eat Raw Espresso Beans?
- 3.7 Can I Get Caffeine From Eating Espresso Beans?
- 3.8 What Happens If You Eat Espresso Beans?
- 4 Frappé-ing It All Up – Does Eating Espresso Beans Give You Energy
When I was posed the question by James, I was entirely unaware that a coffee bean, let alone an espresso roasted coffee bean, could be deemed as edible.
The thought had not crossed my mind. I mean they are teeth crunchingly as hard as rocks and need a mechanical device to turn a raw bean into a cuppa Joe!
After finding out that a coffee bean, and, in particular, an espresso bean, is edible under the right circumstances to soften them. The next question whizzing around my mind was, are espresso beans safe to eat?
Digging around you will find many websites and legitimate expert dieticians and medics telling you both yes and no.
I’m taking that as a “yes, but….” approach like Alcohol is good and safe to consume within the limitations of leading a healthy lifestyle and not overdoing it.
My attitude to eating espresso beans or other coffee beans is to consume in moderation like I would enjoy a good coffee and to be aware of not mixing the two and getting the jitters due to the caffeine in coffee beans that I am eating and my drink.
For what it is worth, both a green coffee bean and a roasted coffee bean are edible. It is far more common that you will see for eating is an espresso roasted coffee bean.
Starbucks Edible Coffee Beans
Starbucks edible milk chocolate covered espresso beans are super simple to make. Literally all that is required is your espresso beans, some high-quality and delicious melted cooking chocolate, and a baking tray in which you place your beans on.
Just dip your coffee beans in the melted chocolate, give them a good stir around to ensure they are well covered and then remove them, placing them on the baking tray and put them in your fridge. When your milk chocolate espresso coffee beans are ready, they will have a hardened chocolate exterior and viola – you are ready to enjoy them.
If you are a coffee lover and chocolate lover, I double dare you to use Nutella as your chocolate base! For an amazing and different tang to your edible coffee beans!
Or try them with Milka Swiss Chocolate!
According to the table on the Starbucks website (reproduced below) a 50 gram serving has 260 calories, 15 grams of fat and 22 grams of sugar.
Kiva Terra Espresso Beans Indica Or Sativa?
If you are into coffee edibles and CBD, then Kiva Espresso Beans might just be what you are looking for.
While it is not for me to discuss or debate the health benefits (discuss that with your doctor). This company, Kiva Confections, makes it easy for you to get your CBD if you are tired of those gummy bears or tincture drops with their chocolate covered beans with cannabis extract added to their recipe.
Enjoy a mocha and cannabis crunch with each bite.
These delights are made with Tanzanian coffee beans and made with a blend of both indica and sativa strains and covered in dark chocolate.
How Much Caffeine In Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans?
Getting straight to answer and not beating around the bush and answer you straight away. A 50 gram portion of Starbucks chocolate covered espresso beans is 400 mg. Which is a lot. It is the daily maximum!
A jitter-inducing amount if taken with coffee with a risk of heart palpitations, sleeplessness and caffeine toxicity.
As much as I love a chocolate coffee bean or two that is exactly what it will be, one or two, three at tops. Given the above figure of 400 mg per 50g serving, we are looking at 12 mg per espresso coffee bean as an average.
Do Espresso Beans Have More caffeine?
Typically, we associate Espresso roasted coffee as being turbocharged with caffeine. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Due to being roasted for longer and often at a slightly higher finishing temperature than medium roasts and other lighter roasts, their caffeine content is less due to the caffeine being roasted out during the process.
Still,
Outside of eating coffee beans, a shot of espresso has more of a caffeine kick on an ounce per ounce basis than a regular coffee.
Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans Serving Size
The serving size currently available at Starbucks is 50g, due to their high, some 400 mg of caffeine content or approximately 12 mg per espresso bean. I suggest that you share them with friends and, depending on the size of your group, avoid caffeine drinks.
If there are 2 of you, the dark chocolate covered coffee beans will give you and your friend a 200 mg kick + the coffee drink which is bordering on too much. Consider it as a nice treat if you are hanging out with 3 or more of your friends and be the responsible one and insist you share as a group and not get a portion each since you now know both the sugar content and the caffeine content.
Besides, the 260 calories are best spread amongst you!
How Many Calories In One Chocolate Covered Espresso Bean?
As mentioned above and basing the answer on the product available at Starbucks, the total amount of dark chocolate covered coffee bean is 30 per 50 gram serving, making each individual bean 8.6 calories.
How Many Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans In A Serving?
That is a great question that I see a lot of people asking as comments on other sites, coffee and cooking forums and social media.
Basing this question around the popular Starbucks product I counted them. I got 30 in a 50 gram serving of the bittersweet treat.
How Many Espresso Beans In A Shot?
Cutting straight to it, an average single shot of espresso will have 71 espresso beans and a double shot 142 beans.
As a drink, the average caffeine content is approximately 75 milligrams of caffeine in a single shot and 150 milligrams of caffeine in a double shot.
To put this into context, there is a significantly reduced amount of caffeine on a per-bean basis when used as a drink rather than as a delicious bitter-sweet treat as a 30 bean serving will contain a massive 400 mg of caffeine.
Ate Too Many Chocolate-covered Espresso Beans? Here’s what to do!
It is not advised that you have more than 400 mg of caffeine per day and that is bang on the limit of one whole 50 gram packet of chocolate covered espresso beans — a simple black coffee to go alongside it will take you way over that limit.
Too much caffeine results in the famous jitters, heart palpitations, being a bit moody and agitated, muscle tremors and a bit of a headache.
Respected health and medical site Healthline inform us that it can take as long as 10 hours for caffeine to exit your body.
They advise you to stay well hydrated by drinking plenty of water to help flush it out and go on a light to brisk walk to burn off that excess energy and eat fiber-rich foods to slow down the release of caffeine into your blood.
Deep breathing is said to help also.
Frequently Asked Questions About Does Eating Espresso Beans Give You Energy
Does Eating Espresso Beans Give You A Caffeine Boost?
Yes, eating espresso beans will give you a boost of energy and mental as well as physical alertness. Eating espresso beans can give you a greater boost of energy than drinking a cup of coffee as eating them is more concentrated as the caffeine is not diluted with water, sugar and milk.
What Happens If You Eat An Espresso Bean?
Espresso beans and coffee beans in general are safe to eat. Even though they are safe for consumption, you should be careful not to eat them in excess and cause yourself to suffer from the jitters of excess effects of too much caffeine or caffeine toxicity.
The benefits of coffee beans, including eating them, are the energy boost as well as the positive effects of the nutrients and antioxidants. Be aware of excess coffee consumption, which includes eating coffee beans as well as drinking coffee.
Are There Any Benefits To Eating Espresso Beans?
Yes, there are many health benefits of eating espresso beans as they are high in antioxidants which help to fight free radicals in your body. The antioxidants and nutrients in coffee have been linked to helping to regulate blood pressure, improve liver health and help to maintain healthy body weight and reduce the risk of liver cancer and inflammation.
Can You Absorb Caffeine By Eating Coffee Beans?
Yes, eating roasted coffee beans can and will increase your level of caffeine in your body quicker than drinking a cup of coffee. The chlorogenic acid, a potent antioxidant, has the effect of increasing the solubility of caffeine and thus helps your body to absorb it quicker.
Also,
since most coffee beans sold as edible beans are covered in dark chocolate there is a boost from the caffeine from the chocolate coating. When you are in the situation where drinking coffee is not possible, have a little bag of edible coffee beans at hand.
Is It OK To Chew Coffee Beans?
Yes, as long as they have been roasted coffee beans are okay to chew. If they are not roasted, and raw green coffee beans you will break your teeth.
Don’t overstep the mark though and take a full handful!
Can You Eat Raw Espresso Beans?
You can eat raw espresso beans either as they are or, as they are more commonly enjoyed coated in chocolate. An espresso roast is a dark roast and will be softer than other regular coffee beans.
I make a little habit of tasting a couple of roasted beans to get an idea of the taste that they produce when I brew them. I do this for every new beans that I try.
Can I Get Caffeine From Eating Espresso Beans?
Yes, a single espresso bean has between 6 mg and 13 mg of caffeine which will go into your body, regardless of how it is consumed, be it brewed or eaten. Be careful not to consume more than the 400 mg limit per day as suggested by the FDA and 200 mg if you are a pregnant lady.
What Happens If You Eat Espresso Beans?
If you eat coffee beans you will enjoy the same caffeine buzz, just a little quicker than what you may expect had you brewed the beans. Espresso beans are enjoyable to eat.
Frappé-ing It All Up – Does Eating Espresso Beans Give You Energy
Yes, absolutely eating espresso beans does give you energy and quite a caffeine kick if you are not careful! Taking about a full daily maximum suggested limit of 400 milligrams per 50g serving and a belt pushing 260 calories.
So, if you are out and about or making your own, be sure to share them and be fully aware of the 12 mg and 9 calorie content of each bean as you snack away.
If anyone asks you does eating espresso beans give you energy, you know the correct answer and what to tell them.
Have you tried eating espresso beans?
How were they? Did you eat them raw or as part of a special recipe?
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