CBD & Caffeine : The Perfect Match
Ready for a coffee in the morning? You’re not alone. In the UK, we now drink around 95 million cups of coffee per day according to the British Coffee Association. And that’s before we add all the tea drinkers, who get through a staggering 165 million cups of tea a day. No other stimulant comes close to the popularity of caffeine.
Coffee stimulates the central nervous system, giving us an almost immediate increase in alertness and energy. That’s why so many of us reach for a morning coffee, latte or espresso to get our day off to a good start. Caffeine helps us wake up early for work, stay alert and focused, and even helps us to work longer hours by stopping us from feeling tired. But caffeine isn’t always a perfect solution.
Many of us who drink coffee are familiar with caffeine’s annoying side-effects. It can make us feel anxious and jittery or make your heart race. Too much caffeine can also produce effects like headaches, nausea, moodiness and fatigue after the caffeine wears off. Or even distracted and less productive – counteracting the reason for using it.
That’s where CBD comes in. More and more people are choosing to mix CBD with their coffee. It’s a combination that could help eliminate caffeine’s negative side effects while still letting you enjoy the full benefits of a cup of coffee.
What is CBD?
Many people choose to take CBD oil as part of a regular wellness routine. CBD (cannabidiol) is one of the many powerful compounds or cannabinoids found in the flowers and leaves of the hemp plant. Hemp plants are high in CBD – a non-psychotropic natural compound known for helping human bodies maintain a balanced state of overall wellness. CBD is non-euphoric-inducing, which means it won’t cause you to feel high.
Why Mix CBD and Coffee?
As CBD becomes more popular, more research is being published on the way CBD affects our bodies. We do know that caffeine shares similar mechanisms to cannabinoids like CBD, which could explain why they pair so well together.
Mental alertness is controlled by key neurotransmitters in the brain. One of the most important of those is adenosine. As adenosine builds up, our neurons become slower at sending messages, making us feel tired. It’s the process that helps us wind down to fall asleep at night. Caffeine blocks the effects of adenosine by attaching it to the receptors, keeping us awake when we would otherwise feel tired. Adenosine and CBD also seem to interact, but CBD modulates adenosine rather than blocking it. CBD is also thought to interact with serotonin, the ‘happy’ neurotransmitter, and increased serotonin activity leads to a greater sense of well-being and motivation.
CBD is also known for its ability to interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system, which keeps us in a state of homeostasis, or balance. When we’re balanced, we feel more focused and better able to cope with stress or anxiety. Many people feel that the negative side effects of caffeine could be smoothed out by the body interacts with CBD. That could be why CBD and coffee are rapidly becoming a popular combination in cafés across the UK. But it couldn’t be easier to try out mixing CBD and coffee for yourself. Just add your normal daily serving to your morning coffee.
How to Mix CBD and Coffee
Ready to try mixing CBD and coffee for yourself? If you’re starting out with adding CBD to coffee, just begin with a few drops. Then monitor what feels comfortable before working up to a full dropper.
You can mix CBD with your morning coffee or blend it with coffee and a handful of ice-cubes to create an iced coffee. CBD is fat-soluble, which is why many people choose to blend it into an iced coffee or mix it with milk. If you’re adding CBD to a hot drink, it might be better to let the coffee cool down a bit, especially if you’re drinking black coffee. Some studies have shown that CBD can degrade slightly when exposed to heat. That’s all the more reason to try an iced coffee to cool you down as well as wake you up! Whether your coffee of choice is a latte, a flat white or a morning espresso, adding CBD is a great way to create a morning wellness ritual for yourself.
As with anything you take in, especially food supplements like CBD, it’s important to be careful with sourcing and quality. We prepare our CBD oils carefully from our hemp to ensure our customers get the quality product they deserve. Read more about how we grow and extract CBD right here on the island of Jersey.
Keen to start your own morning rituals with coffee and CBD? Head over to our Store and choose the Jersey Hemp CBD oil that’s right for you. And don’t forget to let us know how you get on!
