For many of us, coffee is the perfect morning pick-me-up. Whether you rely on a piping hot cup of joe to power you through the day or prefer an ice-cold latte to get you in the groove, the caffeine in coffee is associated with improved focus, memory, and energy.

And if you are seeking out new ways to enhance your morning cup, we may have just the thing: CBD.

This may seem a bit counterintuitive at first. We typically use caffeine to wake us the heck up, to provide an energy boost, and promote alertness. CBD, on the other hand, is often used to help relax the body, provide a sense of calm, and help with sleep.

Can these two seemingly-opposing plant compounds really work together?

We certainly think so! While it may surprise you, there are a number of ways that CBD-infused coffee can support your wellbeing.

1. Enhance Alertness

While CBD on its own is associated with sleep support, there is some evidence that in small doses, CBD can stimulate feelings of energy. When mixed with coffee, it is believed that the effects of the cannabinoids, antioxidants, and caffeine work synergistically to support the brain’s metabolism, providing more energy for the task at hand.

2. Forget the Jitters

If you’ve ever taken one too many trips to the coffee pot in preparation for a long day, you may be familiar with the less appealing effects of over-caffeination. While largely beneficial, caffeine does contain psychoactive properties. This means that it can shift your mental state by affecting your brain, and too much can lead to jitters, stress, or headaches.

This is where CBD can come in handy. Even though CBD is one of the main compounds found in the cannabis plant, CBD is not a psychoactive substance. In fact, CBD is thought to help balance out the psychoactive effects of THC (the actual psychoactive compound found in the cannabis plant), and it can do the same for caffeine.

Because CBD is not psychoactive and typically works within the body’s endocannabinoid system to help provide calm, it can help relax parts of the body that caffeine stimulates, balancing out the effects of over-caffeination.

So if you can tell it’s going to be one of those days that’ll require one or two more cups than you usually drink, adding CBD could help reduce the risk of the post-caffeine jitters.

3. Boost Your Physical Energy

Drinking coffee before a workout can be a complete game-changer, especially with the addition of CBD.

Once absorbed into the bloodstream, caffeine can actually stimulate the nervous system and ramp up the production of the adrenaline hormone, which helps the body prepare for physical exertion. Many athletes find that coffee before a workout or game can help improve performance.

For some, however, the buzz of caffeine can lead to nervousness that can get in the way of their mental game. This is where CBD comes in.

By promoting relaxation, CBD can help combat feelings of mental stress that may occur with caffeine consumption, without you needing to miss out on the adrenaline-boosting benefits of caffeine.

CBD can also help relax the body before exercise. Tense muscles before a workout can potentially lead to injury–this is one of the reasons it is so important to stretch before an intense workout.

When added to your warm-up routine, CBD can also help ease feelings of tension throughout the body by working within the endocannabinoid system. CBD can support our naturally-produced endocannabinoids in pairing with cannabinoid receptors throughout various muscles to provide relief as needed.

When combining coffee and CBD, you can target your physical and mental energy from multiple angles. Your workout won’t know what hit it!

4. Increase Your Stamina

The bioactive ingredients in caffeine can also help the body switch gears from burning carbohydrates to burning fat. Because fatty acids are a cleaner form of fuel, this shift can help keep the body energized and ready to move.

When CBD is added to coffee, it can work within the ECS to help maintain low stress levels throughout your exercise routine so you can focus on your workout for as long as you work out.

5. Improve Your Strength

If you are starting to weight train or are looking to increase your strength, you’ll want to snag your morning coffee before hitting the gym.

Because caffeine helps stimulate the central nervous system, coffee can help you mentally prepare for strength increases, while CBD helps soothe feelings of tension or stress that could interfere.

Even more? CBD can also support muscle recovery post-workout.

Ready To Make Your Own CBD Coffee?

While some coffee shops sell their own CBD-infused coffee beans, making your own CBD-infused coffee is simple (and more affordable)!

All you’ll need is:

• Your favorite coffee beans (or a pre-made cup if you prefer!)
• A small amount of CBD oil OR evo hemp’s CBD isolate powder
• A fatty add-in such as cream, milk, or fatty non-dairy milk (optional)

If you are adding CBD oil, you can help boost CBD’s bioavailability (how much of it your body absorbs) by stirring your CBD oil directly into your fat-based creamer before mixing with the coffee.

CBD extract is traditionally fat-soluble, not water-soluble. This means that fats are needed to help break the CBD oil down into a form that the body can absorb.

Since coffee doesn’t have any fat content on its own, mixing CBD directly into a black coffee wouldn’t do much good if you’re using an oil. Without any fat to help ensure the CBD is absorbed into the bloodstream, it may instead be metabolized in the digestive tract, from where it will eventually pass through the body mostly unused.

Hence, why we created our CBD isolate powder — water solubility is a huge benefit that you don’t notice until you try and add oil into shakes, juices, coffee, and the like!

If you are using our evo hemp CBD Powder, you can quite simply add about ¼ teaspoon into your brewed coffee, stir, and enjoy! Our CBD Powder is water-soluble and has up to 10x better absorption than CBD oil.

How Much CBD Coffee Should I Drink Per Day?

When it comes to dosing, it is most important to listen to your own body.

Some people only need a little CBD to feel the effects, while others need to use more. Similarly, some people can enjoy drinking multiple cups of coffee per day, while others may start to feel jittery with anything over one cup.

It is considered safe to consume up to 400 mg of caffeine a day, which is typically around four cups of coffee.

While CBD is found to be safe even in large doses (up to 1,500 mg per day), most people don’t need over 100 mg per day to feel the effects. Generally, a daily dose ranges between 5 mg and 50 mg.

When adding CBD to coffee, it is typical to use five to 15 mg per cup. We recommend starting with that amount per day, and working your way up as needed.

If you already use CBD oil regularly, you can add a regular dose to your coffee. It is important to note, however, that heat may affect the potency of CBD. So if you find that you aren’t feeling the benefits of your usual amount of CBD when mixing it with coffee, you may want to add another 5-10 mg.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re hoping to ward off the coffee-time jitters or simply increase the benefits found within your mug of coffee, adding CBD can provide the support you’re looking for.

Our collection of CBD oils are the perfect addition to any cup of coffee. And if coffee isn’t your thing, but you still want to enjoy the benefits that CBD offers on its own, check out evo hemp’s wide array of CBD products to find what is right for you!

Sources:

Potential Effects of Cannabidiol as a Wake-Promoting Agent | Current Neuropharmacology

Adenosine A 2A-Cannabinoid CB 1 Receptor Heteromers in the Hippocampus: Cannabidiol Blunts Δ 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol-Induced Cognitive Impairment | Mol Neurobiol

Caffeine: How much is too much? | Mayo Clinic