Honey in Coffee: Why Coffee with Honey Is all the BUZZ

Millions of people depend on their coffee to wake them each morning and keep them going throughout the day. Coffee sales at a retail level are over five billion dollars a year. The revenue from the more than 35,000 coffee shops in North America has reached an all-time high with more than 45 billion dollars in sales annually. 

The variations of how people take their coffee are not quite as enormous, but there are countless ways, including sweeteners like sugar, Splenda, and the new favorite—honey. It turns out that honey in coffee taste delightful and has some other benefits too.

Honey in Coffee

Is Honey Healthier Than Sugar?

Putting any sweetener in your coffee adds calories, and honey has 23 calories per teaspoon to sugar’s 16 calories. You might think that honey has a disadvantage, but that isn’t the case. 

Sugar has fewer calories than honey, but the body processes it slower. The body must break down sugar to fructose and glucose before the body can utilize it. Honey contains both fructose and glucose in simple form so the body can process it much easier, and the syrup is not stored as fat.

Although it has more calories, honey is the better way to go if you are health conscious. Just remember that it is sweeter than sugar, so you don’t need to use it as much. If you use a teaspoon of sugar, try adding two-thirds the amount of honey to get the desired taste. 

What Is Honey?

You may think you know that there isn’t a whole lot to know about honey, but you likely know a lot more than you think. 

Honey is a sweet, delicious liquid produced by honeybees. The honeybees store the honey in hexagonal pods called honeycomb. When you eat raw honey, you are eating honey that comes directly out of the honeycomb.

Honey from the hive is tastier, fresher, and has more health benefits from processed honey, but it does contain beeswax, bee pollen, and (unavoidable) bits of dead bees. When honey manufacturers sell honey, they will usually put it through a filtering process to remove as much debris as possible.

Processed honey goes through a process called pasteurization. Manufacturers heat the honey to kill any yeast cells that alter the taste, lengthen the shelf life of the honey, and make it look more appealing and transparent.

For younger children and anyone with compromised health, it is best to consume pasteurized honey to be safe. No baby under the age of one year should ingest either type of honey. Before allowing your child to eat honey, it is best to speak to their pediatrician.

Health Benefits of Honey

It’s no secret that there are more benefits to using honey in your coffee versus sugar. Here are a few reasons that you may want to make the switch to the sweeter nectar. Similarly to mushroom coffee, honey in coffee can provide many health benefits.

Antioxidant-Rich

Antioxidants protect cells from free radicals. Free radicals (the molecules produced as the body breaks food down) contribute to cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses. Honey is known to be rich in antioxidants, so it is good for you, and that includes in your coffee.

Adding honey to your coffee each day will help protect your body from free radicals, thereby lowering the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, certain types of cancer, and even help slow the aging process.

Heals Wounds

Believe it or not, studies suggest that honey can act as a healing agent with wound dressing. Honey is thought to have healing properties because of its antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Some evidence has also suggested that honey contains antifungal and antiviral properties.

The acidity of the honey also helps aid in the release of oxygen from the wound and promotes faster healing. With the advice or consent of a doctor, you may apply honey to minor burns or cuts directly and cover it with a bandage or gauze.

Anti-inflammatory Benefits

Honey has anti-inflammatory benefits that can help people fight chronic inflammation. Honey has been used to help treat inflammation in people who have chronic conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis, and other diseases. 

Honey can also help prevent inflammation in people who are prone to it by consuming the delicious nectar. There could be a reduction in the inflammation flare-ups from the good of the honey from the inside out.

Soothes Sore Throats

Honey has long been added to lozenges, cold medication, and warm beverages to help ease the pain of a sore throat. Honey is known as being one of the most soothing remedies for a sore throat because of the antibacterial properties that allow it to heal wounds. Honey offers immediate relief of pain and helps to reduce inflammation in the throat, just as it does with healing other wounds.

Treating Diarrhea

Raw honey soothes digestive issues, including symptoms of diarrhea. A study conducted with 150 children with acute gastroenteritis found that those who had an oral rehydration mixture with honey had a more successful recovery from their symptoms.

To help ease the symptoms of mild diarrhea, take a teaspoon of raw honey, or add it to water or tea. Do not consume too great a quantity of sugar or you risk making the problem worse.

Reduce Triglycerides

The cause and result of excess fat in the boy is due to triglycerides. Typically, those who struggle with obesity have a high level of triglycerides. An excessive amount of triglycerides will cause fat depletion at a lower rate from the bloodstream. Adding honey to your diet will help reduce these triglycerides and help your body burn fat.

Help Rid Your Body of Stored Fat

Honey can act as fuel to help the liver make glucose. The glucose maintains sugar levels in the brain and encourages it to emit fat-burning hormones. To benefit from weight loss with a honey diet, just replace your daily sugar consumption with honey, and you will see the benefits.

Helps Burn Calories

There are numerous vitamins and minerals found in honey, although only a trace of micronutrients. When honey is consumed regularly, it is known to be effective in increasing the rate at which calories burn. So, putting honey in coffee can be seen as a sneaky way to burn calories while also sweetener up your cup of coffee!

Raw Honey in Coffee

As we will go into more detail further on, there are two main types of honey:

1. Unpasteurized or raw honey
2. Pasteurized or regular honey

What exactly is raw honey? Raw honey comes directly from the beehive. It is healthier than processed honey and has more nutrients. Raw honey is also free from added preservatives.

Different Kinds of Honey

You might have assumed there was only one kind of honey, but you would be very wrong. There are a multitude of honey flavors, and some may not be to your taste. So, if you are not pleased with the way your coffee tastes once you add honey to it, it may be because of the type of honey, not the combination itself.

There are several different kinds of honey, but you don’t need to worry about doing the research yourself because we’ve done it for you. Here are the most common types of nectar that you will find for sale today. It is important to note that not all types of honey will make your coffee sweeter. So, if putting honey in coffee sounds like it would be too sweet, it doesn't have to be!

• Buckwheat honey has a spicy, sharp aroma and a taste that has more bitter tones.
• Clover honey has a mild taste with no bitterness.
• Acacia honey is sweet and has a slightly acidic taste with tones of vanilla (best for coffee).
• Tupelo Honey has a slight aroma of cinnamon and has a slightly floral and fruity flavor.
• Wildflower honey has a mild taste and changes slightly in flavor each year.
• Orange blossom honey is a sweet flavor with a slight citrus taste.
• Sourwood honey tastes like caramel with a mild aftertaste of a ginger flavor.
• Manuka honey has a scent of damp earth with notes of heather and an excellent cooling eucalyptus taste.
• Linden honey has a mildly sweet and woodsy flavor.
• Avocado honey has a buttery flavor and smooth texture similar to cane syrup.
• Eucalyptus honey has a strong caramel taste at first, with a lovely woodsy aftertaste.
• Blueberry honey has a tangy and fruity flavor that is not overpowering.
• Heather honey tastes slightly smokey and tangy with a sweet aftertaste.
• Dandelion honey has an aroma of the same flower, with a sharp taste.
• Palmetto honey has a caramel flavor that is sweet with a rich flavor.
• Macadamia nut honey has floral tones with a rich amber color and smooth texture.
• Chestnut honey is made from the nectar of a chestnut tree and is widely popular in Italy.

When choosing honey for your coffee, you might prefer to stick to the sweeter syrup rather than bitter or with a smokey or flowery note, but you can be the judge of that.

Does Honey Have Health Risks?

Honey that is known to help cure ailments and relieve swelling or soreness is unprocessed. Unprocessed honey is not run through the process to remove all of the mold spores, bacteria, and bee bits like the honey sold in supermarkets.

Although rare, the consumption of unprocessed honey may cause severe allergic reactions. You would want to look out for hives, itching, or swelling of any kind in the throat, mouth, or skin. These symptoms would be the result of bee parts or pollen left behind in the honey. Because it is possible to react strongly to any particles remaining in the unprocessed honey, you may want to avoid eating it if you have an allergy or a strong allergy to pollen.

Is Honey Good in Coffee?

If you are considering ditching the scoops of sugar, and want to replace it with something a bit healthier, honey is the solution. Not only does combining honey and coffee together provide health benefits, but they also taste delicious when paired.

Coffee and Honey Verdict

There is plenty of evidence for the health benefits of honey coffee, so adding it to your morning cup is only going to give you a better start to your day. You will be adding naturally sweet nectar with loads of health benefits while simultaneously reaping the rewards of consuming less sugar and helping curb unwanted sugar highs and lows. Start experimenting with your ideal taste combination the next time you pour a cup of coffee.