Coconut oil coffee is the latest in a wonderfully never-ending set of trends in coffee. It has a wonderfully smooth and creamy taste, and can actually have amazing health benefits. For example, it can increase energy levels, improve your metabolism and even boost your immune system. To follow up our recent blog on the health benefits of coffee, consider the below science-backed information!

Putting an oil in your morning coffee might sound a bit weird, but it’s actually pretty delicious and may actually be healthy if you have it in moderation.

This coconut oil coffee mix is not something new but it was recently made popular again because of the creation of the Bulletproof Coffee style. This is basically coffee that has been supplemented with MCT, or medium chain triacylglycerol oil (say that 4 times fast!).

MCTs are absorbed and metabolised by the body more rapidly than long-chain fatty acids, meaning there is no time for them to get stored into persistent fat cells. MCTs represent “instant fuel” for your body. One of the richest sources of MCTs is - you guessed it - coconut oil.

And here’s the cool thing: because MCT oil is actually extracted from coconut oil there are super benefits of using coconut oil in your coffee for that extra boost of energy, good health and for the creamy, frothy delicious coffee that tastes WILD!

Health Benefits of Drinking Coconut Oil Coffee

Remember, coconut oil is a saturated fat and having it frequently may not be the best option for everyone. However, from all of my research I’ve found that enjoying coconut oil coffee maybe once or twice a week or as a post-workout treat is not only delicious but can offer some strong health benefits.

1. Weight Management 101; Some Fats Are Good.

According to a recent study, men who consumed MCTs in the morning - the medium-chain fatty acids found in coconut oil - ate significantly fewer calories over the day than the ones who didn't. Another study found (quite unsurprisingly) that people on a low-fat diet feel hungrier and moodier than those on a ketogenic style diet high in fats and low in carbs. It has been shown that consuming good fat doesn’t actually make you fat, whereas consuming sugar (ie: carbs), does make you fat as the body converts the sugar energy excess into fat stores in the liver.

Many people try to “diet” by avoiding fats but end up consuming an astronomically high amount of carbs instead.Eating more healthy fats in the morning might even improve your overall mood and mental endurance during the day as the brain operates on fat as energy rather than sugar.

Here's an experiment - On day 1, drink a normal black coffee, and record down the time you feel hungry after. Do the same on day 2, but add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to your coffee. You'll find that your hunger cravings are curbed for longer. Let me know how you go, with an Instagram tag (#kimberleycoffeecompany).

2. Makes You Happy, Makes Your Brain Work Better.

Okay, so this sounds like a bit of a stretch, but recent studies have found that consumption of MCTs improves the cognitive functions of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Although coconut oil might not directly increase the brain functions of healthy adults, it does seem to show anti-stress effects, which can help you think more positively and clearly.

Even if you’re one of those people who perform well under stress, everyone knows being stressed is not sustainable and creates a myriad of issues if not handled. Virgin coconut oil has antioxidants and other nutrient-rich goodies which can boost your mental capacity and well-being by helping you chill.

The same study also noted that coconut oil could potentially benefit those suffering from depression. If you have a tendency to be anxious, depressed, or just have an overwhelming amount of stuff going on in your life, starting the day with coconut oil coffee can have surprisingly calming effects. These benefits are derived from the high content of MCTs and polyphenols in coconut oil.

It’s worth noting that the studies were specifically focusing on high-quality virgin coconut oil - make sure you get the good stuff and try a self-experiment over a week or so.

3. Coffee & Coconut Oil – A Match Made in Heaven

Coconut oil is a “thermogenic” food, which means it boosts your metabolism through creating heat. Interestingly, so is coffee. This means that combining the two makes a lot of sense if you’re struggling with a slow metabolism to give yourself a good boost.

It makes sense in the taste department, too. Of course, this depends on the type of coffee you're drinking, but most coffee is characterised by a powerful and pretty acidic flavour profile. Smoothing it out with the tropical mellowness of coconut is a match made in heaven. Choosing your coffee grind for your brewing style is also going to be key in avoiding a bitter coffee, especially where a French Press brew is concerned (keep it course baby!)

My first few coconut coffees were amazing and are now my special treat – I choose decaf some of the time when I drink it in the afternoons, and the addition of coconut oil to my almond-milk-decaf-latte (yes, really), it just an absolute joy. Never bitter, and it removes some of the sweetness from the almond milk.

Not sure how this happens as I cannot find any studies relating to this, but when you know, you just know. And if YOU know, then let me know!

4. Boost That Immune System

Not only does coconut oil and coffee separately help you reach toward and maintain a healthy body weight, together they can help you fight off illnesses and build up your immune system.

Coconut oil contains plenty of lauric acids, which helps your body in the fight against antioxidants, bacteria and other little annoyances.

It has also been proven to help tackle one of the hardest bacteria to keep in check, Candida, which causes a range of discomfort to many people including skin irritations, gut issues, sleep problems and depression. Staphylococcus Aureus is another bacteria present in humans that can cause nasty bouts of illness.

Coconut oil can assist with viral conditions like herpes, hepatitis C and the Epstein-Barr, which causes mononucleosis. This is because the MCTs in coconut oil encase viruses in a layer of fat, which breaks down the viral membrane and basically destroys the virus.

While coconut oil isn’t a miracle cure to any and all illnesses, it does have a helpful impact on many of sicknesses we’re all likely to catch from time to time.

What’s more, coconut oil is well known as being very beneficial for your skin as it provides it with moisture and fights off fungi, bacteria and viruses which might cause skin infections. This is why coconut oil works especially well as a topical skin moisturiser and cleanser.

For people prone to skin issues, it seems a winning strategy would be adding coconut oil to your coffee (filled with those beautiful polyphenols) to boost the immune system and also using some extra to soothe your skin! The claim that coconut oil is a superfood is well backed by science. Still sceptical? You might want to try it and see, it's super easy!

5. Increase Metabolism 

As mentioned above, coconut oil is a thermogenic food, which means it generates heat in your body. When you consume it, it can help you create energy and burn more fat. Combine that with coffee, and you’ll be an energy machine! Since coconut oil is a three-chain fatty acid, the liver processes it into energy instead of its being stored as fat. So putting it in coffee gives you even more of an energy boost.

The caffeine in coffee is well known to give your metabolism a push. And coconut oil is largely considered a natural gentle laxative which means it helps to improve your digestion through cleansing that digestive tract. Combining these two ingredients has a big impact on your digestive system without being overly harsh on the body.

So, maybe you’ll try coconut oil coffee this week! It is super easy to make, and worth the self-experiment to see how your health, energy and mood reacts to incorporating it into your coffee lifestyle.

Tell Me How!!!

Try this simple recipe for a beautiful coconut oil coffee with all the benefits…

1. Make a cup of coffee as you normally would (perhaps a little less milk or mylk to start with) and pour into a blender.

2. Add the coconut oil to the blender and blend for 1-2 minutes until the mixture lightens in colour and becomes frothy.

3. Add any extras you'd like including extra warm coconut milk, cinnamon and or cayenne pepper and give it a quick final blend for 10-20 seconds.

We recommend our Organic Fairtrade blend Mintaka Blend for our coconut oil coffees as the blend is perfect for milk blended styles of coffee. Also, being beautifully organic, it just makes you feel good knowing you are doing the right thing by your body!

Enjoy! And don’t forget to tag us when you post your coffee lovers experience #kimberleycoffeecompany