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CBD Infused Coffee: Energy Without the Jitters

Espresso Shot Being Pulled

Coffee has long been the most widely consumed form of caffeine on the planet. In a recent survey by the National Coffee Association (NCA) of 3,000 people asked, 64 percent said they had a cup of joe within the last day. In contrast to coffee's long history, CBD oil has had a short and explosive life. The benefit-packed hemp extract has risen to popular consciousness thanks to its long list of potential therapeutic uses.

Many users have started dosing their morning (or afternoon) cup with CBD oil - looking to the therapeutic benefits of these hemp extracts to balance out caffeine's effects. The draw of potential alertness without the jitters is catching the attention of many.

This appeal has led to CBD-infused coffee popping up everywhere from the local cafe to the grocery store - with supportive print and online articles throwing gas on the fire. These write-ups offer encouraging anecdotal evidence.

Below we take an in-depth look considering the science, anecdotal evidence, and the current product offerings to answer the question: Are CBD oil and coffee the perfect match?

Effects of Coffee vs CBD Oil

Coffee Cups

Coffee is typically thought of as a mild cognitive enhancer helping to increase one's ability to focus, wards off sleepiness, and improving short-term memory. For most, coffee provides a nice boost in the morning. If overdone, this stimulation can result in the jitters - feeling shaky, having sweaty palms, and other anxiety-like symptoms.

The stimulating effects of coffee or tea are linked to caffeine's role as an adenosine receptor antagonist. This means caffeine blocks adenosine, the natural compound in our body, from binding and activating adenosine receptors (A1, A2a, A2b, and A3).

Hemp Leaves

While the list of potential benefits of CBD oil goes deep, most popularly, CBD and the many neighboring cannabinoids and terpenes found in full and broad-spectrum CBD oil are known to be calming and help improve sleep.  In addition to supplementing the body's natural endocannabinoid system, CBD’s effects are in part attributable to the inhibition of adenosine reuptake and indicate some overlapping actions with caffeine.

Overlapping Actions of CBD Oil & Caffeine

Knowing that caffeine and cannabinoids in hemp oil like CBD both act on the adenosine receptors, the question then becomes: how do caffeine and CBD oil act on these receptors when consumed together?

Unfortunately, research is very limited on the subject. ProjectCBD has some comments on the subject, suggesting:

"When mixed with caffeine, CBD’s effects on adenosine would probably be dwarfed by caffeine’s antagonistic activity at adenosine receptors. The extent to which this might diminish CBD’s medicinal properties is unknown. Given cannabidiol’s many modes of action, it is unlikely that this would be seriously problematic."

Additionally, caffeine is metabolized by the same enzyme as CBD. The CYP450 enzyme, specifically CYP1A2, is inhibited by CBD leading to interactions with many substances. This means that a slower rate of caffeine processing through the body will occur. This could lead to a longer, drawn-out caffeine effect.

Complimentary Benefits of Combining CBD Oil & Coffee

Hemp Leaf and Coffee Cup

While the overlapping actions don't give much of a science-based reason to consume CBD-infused coffee, the independent actions of the two substances offer complimentary benefits on paper:

  • Coffee's boost of energy and alertness can be "smoothed out" by CBD's calming effects.
  • Both substances are antioxidants, working together to rid the body of toxins.
  • Caffeine's interruption of sleep could be mediated by CBD which is known to have positive impacts on sleep quality.

Ultimately the entire question comes down to your own experience. Looking for stories, you'll find plenty of perspectives. Some people are enjoying the benefits, some observe no difference, and others found downsides. Since it is safe to add a couple of drops of your favorite hemp product to your next cup, the best way to see if it works is to try it for yourself!

How to Make Your Own CBD-Infused Coffee

While you may find many pre-packaged types of coffee available, we think the best way is to take the infused drink for a test drive is to simply make it yourself. This is very easy to do with a traditional oil-based tincture - just add the desired dose to your cup of joe, and enjoy. You can add a tincture directly to your cup or create your own CBD infused honey and add it to the mix. This allows you to add a precisely controlled dose of a quality CBD product to your favorite beverages at a low cost.

There are a couple of BIG problems with using a traditional CBD oil tincture, however. First, water and oil don't mix and the oil ends up floating on top of the cup. This can be overcome by drinking a bulletproof coffee mix, but this doesn't solve the other, bigger issue at hand.

There is a big problem with swallowing CBD oil when it comes to effectiveness. The issue is that as traditional oil, it's not readily absorbed by the body and over 90% of the swallowed CBD oil will be washed from the body as waste. This issue has led to the development of water-soluble CBD which combats these effectiveness issues head-on.

Hydro Tincture Contents

Here at Big Sky Botanicals Hydro CBD Tincture is water-soluble featuring a nanoemulsified formula allowing it to effectively mix into liquids. This means you won't have to deal with the separation that occurs with oil-based products AND you'll absorb up to 5x the CBD content, preventing you from letting your precious product go to waste.

If you're going to give this a try - be sure to test the dosage levels. The combination may have varying effects at different dosages. At low dosages, CBD may offer parallel effects to caffeine. At higher doses, CBD may offer a contradictory sedative effect that would balance out caffeine's energy-boosting effects.

We want your feedback! Have you added CBD to your morning cup? How'd it go? Let us know in the comments below.




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