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Green coffee is a product of brewing with unroasted green coffee beans, and it has a notably different taste and chemical profile compared to that of black coffee.
For most people, green coffee is a weight loss supplement. However, it also offers many other benefits to improve your health and wellness. Green coffee is a readily available beverage that you can make at home or enjoy in some coffee shops. So if you are looking for a different way of enjoying your java, green coffee is a great option.
Let’s look at some differences between green coffee vs black coffee below.
Main Differences Between Green Coffee Vs Black Coffee
The main differences between green coffee vs black coffee are:
- Green coffee has significantly lower caffeine content, whereas black coffee has more caffeine content due to the roasting and grinding preparation process.
- Green coffee is brewed with green coffee beans, whereas black coffee is derived from roasted coffee beans.
- Green coffee retains most of its nutrients as the beans are brewed when raw, whereas black coffee offers less nutritional value because the roasting process removes most of the nutrients.
- The chemical composition of green coffee provides mental and physical health benefits, whereas the chemical composition of black coffee determines its flavor and aroma.
What Is Green Coffee?
Green coffee is what you get when you brew raw, unroasted coffee beans. Generally, when coffee cherries are picked on the farm, they go through processing where the beans are removed from the cherries before they are sun-dried.
These green beans are what one uses to make green coffee, and when you roast them, they make black coffee.
So, how does green coffee taste? When you consider that black coffee derives most of its taste profile from the roasting process, green coffee tastes notably different from black coffee. Therefore, you may want to consider the bean quality to buy if you’re brewing green coffee.
While it is more acidic than black coffee, green coffee also has a mild herbal flavor, similar to green or herbal tea. It also has a light greenish color with a thick consistency when you brew it.
Does Green Coffee Have More Caffeine Than Roasted Coffee?
Caffeine is a stimulant found in tea and coffee plants. While the caffeine content in green coffee is much less, you may get the same side effects—such as restlessness, anxiety, headaches, and insomnia—that you get from black coffee when you over-consume it.
However, the answer is not as simple as that.
The caffeine content in green beans is equivalent to what you get in roasted beans. However, green coffee is typically prepared with whole beans, whereas one has to grind the beans first with black coffee.
Ground coffee has more surface area per unit of weight than whole beans, so it releases more caffeine in your drink. Researchers from Lakehead University, Orillia Canada, showed in a study that a fine-grind cup of joe has more caffeine content than a coarse-grind coffee, no matter the brewing time.
Therefore, one cup of black coffee may have almost five times more caffeine content than a cup of green coffee made with whole beans.
What Are the Health Benefits of Green Vs Black Coffee?
Green coffee is an unprocessed product, meaning it has more preserved nutrients than roasted coffee and more nutritional value. It is rich in antioxidants, which prevent cell damage, and chlorogenic acids that aid in weight loss.
Here is a rundown of some of the health benefits of green vs black coffee.
A study by the University of Guadalajara showed that oral administration of chlorogenic acid on pre-diabetic patients increased insulin sensitivity and reduced their blood sugar level.
Additionally, they had improved their overall lipid profile, meaning that they had lower levels of cholesterol which reduced their risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Black coffee is also effective in reducing the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease. Additionally, research has shown that you can protect your liver from cirrhosis and prevent certain types of cancer, such as colorectal cancer, by drinking four cups of coffee a day.
Another study from Japan showed that consumption of green coffee extract by patients with mild hypertension significantly reduced their blood pressure and the risk of getting a stroke.
Other studies of the green coffee extract with promising results show that the anti-inflammatory properties of chlorogenic acid can inhibit the growth of cancerous tumors and help reduce the effects of arthritis and skin aging.
Can Green Coffee Help With Weight Loss?
Chlorogenic acid is a green coffee extract widely used in the health and wellness industry. While some studies show that chlorogenic acid lowers cholesterol in the body, many health experts discount its ability to help reduce body fat effectively.
For example, a January 2010 study found that chlorogenic acid was effective in reducing body weight and regulating lipid metabolism in obese mice. On the other hand, a meta-analysis of various human clinical trials on the efficacy of chlorogenic acid for weight loss by British scientists determined that while they showed promising results, they were poorly conducted to be reliable.
However, the purported effectiveness of using the green coffee extract for weight loss got a big boost in 2012. A study on this showed that participants who took the supplement lost more weight than those who took a placebo.
It gave green coffee extract massive traction, making it one of the most popular weight loss solutions in the market to date.
How to Prepare Green Coffee
Green coffee is commercially available as whole beans, pre-ground, or in powder form for brewing, and as capsules for supplements. Making green coffee is a simple process outlined in the steps below.
- Measure out the green beans and rinse under cold water
- Put the beans in a pot and measure 400ml of water for every 100g of beans.
- Bring the water to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Strain the beans, and your green coffee is ready to drink.
You can use the beans for a second brew and store leftover green coffee in your refrigerator. One advantage of green over black coffee is its shelf life. Find out how long green coffee lasts.
If you use ground or powdered green coffee beans, you will infuse the powder or grounds with hot water in a carafe for about six minutes.
Filter the mixture into a cup, and the green coffee is ready to drink.
Black coffee has more dynamic brew methods that include infusion, pour-over, and espresso, among others. Infusion coffee includes brewing methods such as French Press and the AeroPress, while pour-over uses brewers like Hario V60 and Chemex.
Additionally, you can have black coffee as a cold brew or iced coffee, and you can serve with milk, creamer, or sugar for taste.
Final Thoughts
Choosing which coffee works for you is subjective, thus picking a clear winner between green coffee vs black coffee is difficult. Generally, green coffee is a good option for nutrition-conscious individuals and people who want less caffeine in their coffee.
On the other hand, black coffee is more versatile in preparation methods and brewing styles. It also tastes much better than green coffee and has a better taste profile. Also, there are many ways of serving black coffee, making it a popular choice for most people.
However, I would encourage you to try green coffee if you have never had it, and we would love to hear your experience in the comments section below.
