Green coffee is touted by many manufacturers as a miracle cure for weight loss. We’ll tell you here whether that’s true, what it tastes like and how you prepare it.
In most cultures, it is common to make coffee from roasted coffee beans. But it is also possible to make coffee from raw coffee beans. Because coffee beans are green before they are roasted, coffee made this way is called green coffee.
What is green coffee?
In contrast to roasted coffee, green coffee is not considered a luxury food. It is particularly popular with health-conscious people because it is marketed as a superfood that is also said to help you lose weight and lower blood sugar.
In contrast to roasted coffee, green coffee contains more chlorogenic acid. Proponents attribute health-promoting properties to this: It is said to slow the release of glucose after a meal, which regulates blood sugar levels. By the way, green coffee also contains caffeine, but less than its roasted counterpart.
It is often offered as an extract in capsule or powder form as a dietary supplement. In terms of taste, green coffee cannot be compared with roasted coffee. It has a very sour taste and is more like a bitter green tea. Only very few people enjoy it straight away, so many refine it with spices to make it edible.
How to prepare green coffee?
The preparation of green coffee is different from that of roasted coffee.
As mentioned, you can buy it as a dietary supplement, for example in capsule form. Then you should take the product according to the package instructions in consultation with your doctor.
However, you can also make green coffee as a drink from whole coffee beans. You should soak these in water overnight and then boil them in fresh water for ten to 15 minutes the next day. Depending on your taste, you can add spices, sugar or milk to reduce the bitter taste.
If this preparation method is too complicated for you, you can also use green coffee extract. This allows you to prepare green coffee in the same way as loose tea: steep in hot water for a few minutes, then strain.
Does green coffee help you lose weight?
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Its manufacturers and many health portals tout green coffee as a true miracle cure for losing weight. Many scientific studies also deal with the topic. A review in 2011 summarized that green coffee is not a miracle cure, but it can still help you lose weight.
Other reviews from 2019 and 2021 came to a similar conclusion:
- Green coffee supplementation was able to help reduce participants’ weight, waist circumference and body mass index, but had no significant effect on body fat percentage.
- Green coffee can also have a positive effect on cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
- However, it has not been found that a higher dose of chlorogenic acid achieves better weight loss results.
If you want to try green coffee yourself, it’s best to go for an organic product with a Fairtrade seal. This way you can be sure that the coffee farmers receive a fair price for their beans and practice sustainable agriculture. You’re most likely to find it in a health food store, organic shop or, of course, online, for example directly from the manufacturer Sonnentor or on Amazon.
By the way: In order to lose weight healthily in the long term, changing your diet is the method of choice – and far superior to any supposed miracle cure.
Read more on Techzle\.com:
- Fair trade coffee: why we should drink it, which prejudices are wrong
- Sustainable coffee drinking: facts and tips on beans, filters, etc.
- Regional superfoods that don’t cost you a cent
Edited by Denise Schmucker