How To Make A Good Cup Of Coffee With Honey
With a wide variety of sweeteners and creamers as common additions to a cup of coffee, coffee with honey often tends to run under the radar.
Honey is a natural sweetener and offers lots of health benefits. However, if you want to make a cup of coffee and you add honey, you might be surprised by the taste.
We'll give you insight on honey in general, including tips on creating a Good Cuppa Coffee by sweetening it with honey, and break down any pros and cons of a coffee-honey combo.
So, first things first…
Can You Put Honey In Coffee?
Yes, you can absolutely put honey in coffee, as it makes a fantastic natural sweetener. While most tend to sweeten their coffee with sugar or other alternative artificial sweeteners, honey can serve as a healthy, tasty substitute that will give you the additional sweetness you want.
Coffee With Honey Benefits
Honey on its own contains many health benefits; hence, adding honey to coffee will have benefits.
Some benefits of honey include:
- Anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, which can help boost your immunity.
- Full of antioxidants that help prevent cell damage.
- It can help to improve digestion and reduce bloating because it has prebiotic properties, which help promote gut health.
- Honey is high in vitamins and minerals like iron, zinc, potassium, and magnesium, which are essential for overall health.
- High in polyphenols which work within your body to help reduce the risk of some serious diseases and protect your body's tissues from free radicals or oxidative stress.
Aside from those, let's compare the benefits of adding honey to your coffee rather than processed white sugar.
Honey is a nature-made energy elixir, boasting two key sugars - glucose and fructose.
Glucose provides an easily accessible fuel source for the body to burn quickly. While fructose more than likely turns into fat because it takes slightly longer for the body to burn, it still supplies quick, accessible energy your body can use.
On the other hand, white table sugar contains disaccharides. Disaccharides are a more complex sugar that takes more time to process into useable fuel sources than honey's simpler sugars.
These molecular changes shed light on honey being much better for our bodies. As honey is broken down and used much faster in our bodies than highly processed white sugar, the sugars in honey are less likely to convert into fat and remain in our bodies.
Additionally, the sugars found in honey taste far sweeter than traditional table sugar, often allowing you to use less honey than sugar in your coffee to meet your desired taste.
Honey also has a low-glycemic index, resulting in a more subtle effect on one's blood glucose levels.
Needless to say, honey is an excellent addition to coffee, but does it taste good with coffee?
We'll be frank, that's the million-dollar question.
Is Honey Good With Coffee?
Honey can be very delicious with coffee, but it is a different taste compared to coffee with white sugar, meaning that some may not acquire or enjoy the taste of coffee with honey.
Take a peek below for a few suggestions on how to enjoy coffee and honey.
- Getting the most out of adding honey to your coffee begins with making sure the honey is mild and not too strong in flavor. Heavier floral kinds of honey tend to overpower the coffee taste, while lighter alternatives can still add some sweetness and allow you to enjoy the coffee's natural flavor.
Lighter types of honey, like clover and acacia, are clean tasting and mild, giving the perfect sweetness without altering the flavor of the coffee itself.
- Next, you should add honey to your coffee at the end of your preparation, as honey can scorch if you brew it boiling with the coffee. Adding it at the end allows for better control over each cup's sweetness.
- Finally, don't be afraid to play around and experiment until you find what works best for you! You may find that you prefer the taste of one particular type of honey in a light roast and another kind of honey in a medium roast.
If honey in your cuppa doesn't taste quite right, give it a try in another way. You may find that your favorite cuppa coffee includes sweetening it with honey!
Since you have the tips on honey in coffee, let's get into a play-by-play.
Here's how you can make a great cup of coffee with honey at home.
How To Make A Good Cuppa Coffee With Honey
- The first step is getting the correct type of coffee bean. Light roasts are usually a great choice as they tend to have more sweetness and acidity than darker roast coffees.
- Next, brew your coffee. (If you need tips on how to brew coffee, visit our blog here!)
We recommend our Costa Rican Tarrazu as an ideal roast to pair with honey! It's a vibrant coffee full of light, clean flavor. Its light body and fresh flavors make an incredible complement to honey's distinct sweet taste.
- Let your coffee cool just slightly so it isn't scalding. High heat can eliminate some of the nutritional value of the honey. Allowing your coffee to cool briefly before you add the honey preserves some of the honey's nutritional benefits.
- Start by adding between 1/2 teaspoon to 2 teaspoons of honey per cup of coffee, depending on how sweet you want.
Note: As mentioned above, the sugars in honey taste sweeter than white table sugar, so don't start using an exact equivalent of sugar and honey as a substitute. Beginning with less assures you don't over-sweeten or overwhelm the taste of your roast.
- Stir the honey in until dissolved. If you prefer a creamier coffee, add milk or cream, then stir again.
- Finally, enjoy your freshly brewed Good Cuppa Coffee with honey!
Is Cold Coffee With Honey Good?
Cold coffee with honey is actually a great way to enjoy your cuppa. The sweetness of the honey tends to be much more pronounced in cold or iced coffees than in hot coffees. Many people find that cold coffee and honey combination to be an enjoyable taste experience.
If you want to make cold coffee and add honey, you can use the steps outlined above. The only difference is that you will add the honey and milk to cold coffee instead of hot, which may take a little extra stirring to ensure the honey permeates the entire coffee.
A suggestion is to add a small amount of hot coffee to your honey first to allow the honey to dissolve flawlessly. Then, add cooled-down or cold coffee. Follow up with any creamers and ice for an incredible tasting, sweet, and refined sugar-free iced coffee.
Takeaways
Can you put honey in coffee, yes! Adding honey to coffee can be a great way to sweeten your cup of joe without using processed and refined white sugar. Honey contains glucose and fructose, providing a quick-burning fuel source for your body and additional nutrients like vitamins and minerals.
The question of taste is ultimately up to you, as everyone has different preferences. If you want to experiment, add small amounts of honey to adjust flavor and sweetness as you go. To ensure the best taste experience, add honey at the end of your coffee preparation and enjoy it hot or cold!
It's essential to explore a little and experiment a lot to find your Good Cuppa Coffee; don't be surprised if your good cuppa ends up being coffee with honey!