As coffee lovers, we’re lucky to have plenty of roasting options to choose from. Whether you opt for light, medium, or dark, each roast has its own unique flavor and surprising health perks. This also applies to unroasted (or green) coffee beans, which have benefits including weight loss, lowered cholesterol and boosting immunity. We spoke with Nora Tobin, wellness and coffee expert and founder of Nora’s Naturals, to learn more about green coffee, how to make it at home and why it’s such a great health-boosting drink.
Why is it called green coffee?
The roasting process what gives coffee beans their signature brown color. Before this step, though, they have a vibrant green hue. Coffee beans are actually the seeds found in the fruit from the coffee plant called a “cherry” that grows in parts of Africa, Central and South America, and Asia.
Once harvested, the cherries are washed and de-pulped, which strips the outer part of the fruit and leaves behind the coffee bean. The green coffee beans then get shipped to a roaster and are roasted at different temperatures for various types of coffee. However, you get the purest form of coffee when the beans are unroasted and green—and consuming them this way comes with some amazing perks!
3 key health benefits of drinking green coffee
Drinking coffee has been linked to increased longevity and even lowered liver cancer risk, but the roasting process lessens the overall health benefits slightly. Luckily, leaving the beans unroasted allows coffee to retain these three
1. It boasts an impressive antioxidant profile.
Tobin notes that green and lighter roasted coffees tend to have more antioxidants, especially phenolic compounds, than darker roasts. “Because you’re not stripping away the antioxidants during the roasting process, it’s going to contain more chlorogenic acid, which is that building block to those antioxidants,” she says. “It’s going to be a really great way to increase your antioxidants, which then decreases your inflammation for immune protection.”
2. It may help stabilize cholesterol levels.
Along with an immune system boost, drinking unroasted coffee could also allow you to maintain healthy cholesterol levels. A study published in Nutrition Journal credited the chlorogenic acid in green coffee for helping to lower participants’ cholesterol over a two week period.
3. It could be a positive factor for metabolic health.
Although previous research suggests that green coffee might aid with weight loss, Tobin points out that regularly drinking it with a balanced diet can be more impactful for your health. “It’s not like if you drink coffee in general, you’re absolutely going to burn all this fat,” she says. “But, it does support the metabolic rate and increases your metabolism.”
How do you prepare green coffee beans?
Tobin says that you can crush these beans in a coffee grinder until it reaches your desired texture (coarse, medium or fine). Then, use those grounds to make any type of coffee including espresso, pour over or French press. “It’s usually a thicker bean with a thicker consistency, so just be mindful that it might appear slightly different,” she says.
She mentions that the roasting process gives coffee its flavoring, which might be more citrusy for lighter roasts and nutty for medium or dark ones. Green coffee tends to have a mild, herbal taste similar to green tea. And since green coffee naturally contains caffeine, Tobin recommends sticking to a darker or decaf roast if you’re looking to avoid any jittery feelings afterwards. Unroasted coffee beans are available to buy online and it’s also worth chatting with a barista from your local coffee shop to see if they’ve got a stash of these beans on hand.
This content is not a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always consult your physician before pursuing any treatment plan.
