Do you enjoy coffee? What about chocolate? Chances are, you probably would enjoy them together! That’s why chocolate-covered espresso beans have become a popular snack, especially because of their versatility.
Enjoy them at the start of your day or as a special treat atop a slice of chocolate cake.
Some may be wondering about the caffeine content in this delicious little treat. While small, these beans pack a lot of energy! Beyond the extra pep in your step, there are several benefits to indulging in this treat. Read on to learn more about caffeine in chocolate-covered espresso beans.
What’s In A Chocolate-covered Espresso Bean?
Chocolate-covered espresso beans are coffee beans dipped into melted chocolate. Shortening is also added to the chocolate chips to make the dipping process easier, as sometimes the chocolate can be finicky.
The ingredients vary depending on the flavor- people can use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate to melt and cover. Some also enjoy rolling the beans in cocoa powder to enhance the taste.
You can make Chocolate-covered espresso beans at home or buy this favorite delicious snack at your local coffee shop or Amazon! They can serve as popular desserts, being a treat, or just a little something to eat.
How Much Caffeine Is In Espresso Beans?
A single espresso bean contains approximately 5 to 10 mg of caffeine.
However, the caffeine content per coffee bean varies on many factors.
One thing people might assume is that espresso beans are a different type of coffee bean! They’re not- they are regular green beans that have been specially roasted for the espresso brewing method. Espresso beans are usually dark roasts, so the espresso machine can extract the coffee flavor sooner using high pressure.
Why are darker roasted espresso beans more common for making chocolate-covered coffee candy? Because they are more brittle and easier to chew. In comparison, a regular coffee bean would be difficult to eat due to its density.
For every ounce of espresso, there is an average of 64 mg of caffeine, whereas there is only 12mg-16 mg per ounce in a regular brewed coffee. And espresso tastes much stronger than a regular cup of coffee. So people may be the assumption that espresso beans have a heavier caffeine content than regular coffee beans, which is not true technically.
Darker roasted coffee beans tend to be less caffeinated than lighter roasted beans. Espresso is strong because of the brewing method and ratio, not the beans.
Additionally, espresso beans can be 100% arabica coffee beans or a blend of arabica beans and Robusta beans. A robusta bean contains twice more caffeine content than a single arabica coffee bean so robusta chocolate-covered beans may contain more caffeine.
How Much Caffeine Is In Chocolate?
With chocolate-covered beans, you’re also getting caffeine from the chocolate coating itself! Some often forget that there is caffeine in chocolate, but now you know there is, and at some point, it’s more than what you find in the espresso bean.
It depends on the different types of chocolate, as they have a different makeup of cocoa solids, therefore varying caffeine levels.
When cocoa beans are harvested and prepared, the contents become liquefied and separate into cocoa solids and cocoa butter.
Cocoa or cacao solids are where the caffeine resides, and since dark chocolate has a higher level of cacao solids, there is more caffeine in dark chocolate compared to other chocolates. Milk chocolate has fewer cocoa solids, and white chocolate has none!
Dark chocolate with 70% to 85% cacao solids has 80 milligrams per 100 grams, milk chocolate has 20 milligrams, and white chocolate has zero milligrams of caffeine! [resource: USDA FoodData Central]
If the snack has a thick dark chocolate coating, it can derive more of its caffeine content from the chocolate.
How much caffeine is in chocolate-covered espresso beans?
There is on average, between 6-12 milligrams of caffeine in one chocolate-covered espresso bean!
According to a USDA’s caffeine content research, 1 bag of 28-pieces dark chocolate coated coffee beans contains 336 mg of caffeine. That’s more caffeinated than most Starbucks drinks.
The caffeine content in chocolate-covered espresso beans depends on the ingredients used. As we talked about earlier, dark chocolate espresso beans would have more caffeine than coffee beans covered in a different type of chocolate.
Milk chocolate-covered espresso beans would have a little less caffeine, and white chocolate-covered espresso beans would have zero caffeine, at least in terms of caffeine coming from the chocolate.
This might feel like a lot at first, but you need to consider how many milligrams of caffeine adults can consume daily.
How Many Chocolate covered coffee beans Can You Eat Per Day?
The FDA suggests 400mg maximum caffeine intake for adults. Someone can safely consume about 30 chocolate-covered coffee beans without bypassing that caffeine intake.
It’s important to time when you consume these! Self-control is critical because having too much around bedtime will result in more energy than you’d like, which can disrupt your sleep schedule.
It’s best to spread them out through the earlier part of the day, so the caffeine amount doesn’t become overwhelming either!
How Many Chocolate-covered Coffee Beans Are Equivalent To A Cup Of Coffee In Caffeine?
The average caffeine content in an 8-oz cup of hot brewed coffee is 80 to 100 mg. According to our previous discussion, each chocolate-covered coffee bean has about 6 to 12 mg of caffeine. This can also vary from the coffee and chocolate used.
So indulging in 8 to 16 chocolate-covered coffee beans can be equivalent to a cup of coffee when it comes to caffeine intake.
However, the caffeine content in a cup of coffee varies depending on the way you brew coffee. Espresso, drip coffee, Moka pot, french press, and other brew methods have different serving sizes too.
For example, according to USDA, a single shot of espresso (1 fl. oz) has approximately 64mg of caffeine. As we discussed in the previous part of the article, 5 to 10 chocolate-covered espresso beans have the same caffeine content as a shot of espresso.
Baristas generally use 7 grams of coffee beans to yield 14 to 21 grams of espresso liquid (about one fl. oz). If you wonder how many beans are used for a shot of espresso. We weighed 7 grams of beans and counted, and there were 54 espresso beans.
An 8-oz cup of pour-over coffee contains approximately 173 mg of caffeine. So eating 13 to 28 chocolate-covered coffee beans can give you the same caffeine kick.
It’s important to remember again that the types of chocolate coating will result in different amounts of caffeine.
The Effects of the Caffeine In Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans
What are The health benefits of chocolate-covered espresso beans?
There are several health benefits to eating chocolate-covered espresso beans. They are rich in antioxidants which not only increase blood circulation in the body but can also boost our immune systems.
Dark chocolate is linked to a lower risk of heart disease because of the high level of flavonoids, so those who are at risk for heart disease can indulge comfortably!
This treat is also low in cholesterol and fat, which makes it a great healthy snack for those trying to lose weight, especially if one sticks to dark chocolate and has no added sugar. However, milk chocolate and white chocolate contain more sugar.
Coffee naturally has lots of health benefits, said healthline.com.
“Drinking coffee has been linked to numerous health benefits, including a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and liver, heart, and neurological diseases.”
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coffee
Do chocolate-covered espresso beans give you energy?
Another benefit is the mind stimulation! Chocolate-covered espresso beans help stimulate brain productivity and break you out of a slump. A quick handful at the office or school can leave you feeling rejuvenated. It’s also healthier because you skip energy drinks!
What happens if you eat too many espresso beans?
As with all things, this snack is best enjoyed in moderation. Eating an excessive amount of chocolate-covered espresso beans can result in stomach aches, as well as restlessness.
Caffeine will keep you up, especially if you indulge later in the day, and no one wants a screwed-up sleep schedule! If you’ve ever experienced a crash from sugar or caffeine, that can be a likely outcome after overindulging.
Conclusion
Chocolate-covered coffee beans can be an alternative if someone is trying to limit their coffee consumption!
There is less caffeine when eating coffee beans and other health benefits, so you can get an energy jolt that’s less harmful than energy drinks. It can be your go-to snack on your weight loss journey.
As long as one enjoys it in moderation, you can eat delicious coffee beans from the store or homemade!
