Baristas are serving cannabis coffee all over legalized regions. You might find Caffeine and CBD a ‘mind lifting’ combination.
If you’ve been paying attention to culinary trends, cannabis coffee was a predictable marriage. Across the United States, and in Canadian urban areas, indie coffee shops have been popping up for the last decade. These little caffeine hubs are the cool place to hang, filled with young entrepreneurs, creative types and hipsters. Intellectual and socially minded, they source unique, ethically grown, ideally local, roasted beans. The result is the emergence of a subculture where coffee aficionados rate beans like a sommelier for their flavor profile and aromatics.
Cannabis is Trending With Coffee
Over the last decade or so, often in the same neighborhood as your favorite coffee shop, dispensaries have been opening up. These cannabis storefronts are airy and modern, with an artsy vibe. Gone are the grungy backstreet locations of the past. Intellectual and socially minded types source unique, ethically grown, ideally local, dank buds. (I see what you did there.)
The storefront for cannabis sales cares about the consumer and it cares about quality bud. Even more, just like baristas, budtenders are more of a career choice than a part time gig. People are on the lookout for exciting, new strains and innovative ways of consuming. Purchasing and using cannabis is as much about the senses as it is about the feeling.
The Magical World of Cannabis Coffee
From cold brews to coffee beans to single-serving cannabis-infused coffee, companies are inventing high-quality cannabinoid infusions with a caffeinated twist. There are, of course, restrictions on infusing additional caffeine into cannabis products in some regions. Canada, and a number of legal states, have outlined that mixing alcohol and caffeine is not a good idea, ergo cannabis and caffeine are also discouraged in these regions. Although the regulations allow for most coffee products, these bar caffeine additives. Which basically means you’ll find infused coffee beans, but not any 5-hour energy shots with added THC.
The market is booming for cannabis infused coffee products that deliver a little cannabinoid boost. Here are a few of the options dominating current markets:
Cannabis Cold Brews
The summer of 2018 was all about cold brewed coffee, so it isn’t a surprise that cannabis companies were incorporating this favored beverage into their line up of cannabis infusions. Companies like Therapy Tonics and Provisions designed cannabis-infused espresso shots as a “caffeinated and medicated” beverage. They’ve now moved beyond the coffee bean and into deliciously sweet Indian Spiced Chai, to Coconut Matcha teas, all with a little THC pick me up.
Other companies stick to more traditional cold brews pouches, just like your favorite coffee chains sell during the summer months. Pot-o-Coffee Cold Brew has a line with appropriate cannabis names including, Hazelnut Haze and Light it Up Medium Roast. Their line up exclusively focuses on CBD infusions.
Cannabis Infused Coffee Beans
The traditional approach to brewing a pot of coffee can still get a buzz on. Luckily, the technology for infusing beans with additional flavors can be adapted for THC. Pot-O-Coffee has a handful of CBD infused bags of beans in their product line, but there are others including HippieBrew, with up to 200 mg THC per serving, and Green Roads CBD beans.
Cannabis Infused Coffee Pods
Cannabis-infused cups gave a ‘pop and go’ solution for your Keurig. There are many versions of these cups: a variety of infused teas from of Brewbudz, a line of CBD infused coffees from Pot-O-Coffee and bold roasted Kush Cups. As Canada relaxes on the edible laws, it’s very likely the pod product combos will keep coming.
What Happens When You Combine Cannabis with Coffee?
Cannabinoids and caffeine are individually little punches of pick-me-up power, but when used together, what are the effects? Whether you realize it or not, both coffee and THC are psychoactive substances. However, one is technically a depressant (cannabis) and the other a stimulant (coffee). Together, they seem to boost the experience of euphoria for consumers, making the morning just a little bit brighter.
There is some concern that THC works to counteract the productivity/cognitive boost that caffeine gives. To mitigate, you can microdose THC with caffeine or choose CBD coffee instead.
CBD Cannabis Coffee
Sadly, there is even less research about CBD and caffeine than about THC. Some preliminary work seems to suggest that small doses of CBD are not negated by combining with caffeine. Anecdotally, CBD coffee appears to boost mood and productivity, while reducing anxiety.
The research on coffee and cannabis hasn’t yet caught up with the products now lining the shelves of dispensaries. While there don’t seem to be any adverse health issues connected to combining the two, research is still sparse and can only guess about what happens with the rest of your day (sleepy or more alert?).
Cannabis and coffee shop culture are now more popular than ever before, which will lead to greater intersection between the two. There are already coffee shops offering CBD infused morning pick-me-ups, and presumably heavier THC infusions will follow along with legalization. Considering Starbucks already serves Bailey’s and other creamed liquors in some select locations, it isn’t that far fetched to presume one day, a coffee shop near you could offer a THC infused mocha.
