Estimated 5-minute read
Ah, morning coffee. For many, the sound of the clock alarm is not the start of the day, but merely the preamble; the morning *really* gets going only when you have your first sip of coffee, giving the energy (or in many cases, the will to live) necessary to go through another day of activities. Where would be without a cup of hot joe helping us rebalance and fire our engines to the max? Really, coffee is the most important meal of the day.
The best part is that coffee is a very versatile drink, that you can prepare in basically every way you like, from hot cups to ice-cold brews, from cappuccinos to expresso, from the bitterest bite to the sweetest caress, and beyond that: candy, ice cream, cakes… Come to think of it, coffee is very similar to weed, in the sense that not only today you can more options than ever to enjoy them, but they can also act as fundamental parts of a person’s day, helping it getting started, in coffee’s case, or helping finishing it in the weed’s case.
In fact, the love for these two plants is so great, that naturally we have found the benefits of combining them, bringing the best of both worlds inside a single cup. That idea does sound interesting, right? However, does it work? After all, as we already mentioned, the desired effects from both seem different enough that making cannabis coffee might seem like an odd idea. We like coffee because it helps us be alert, and we like weed because it helps a person to relax.
Nonetheless, the popularity of cannabis coffee is skyrocketing right now. And it comes to two simple reasons: we really love both, so combining them is a natural development, and chemically it might make more sense than it seems. Do you want to give it a try? Because today, here at HØJ we want to introduce to you the best drink you are yet to discover, likely changing the flow of your mornings forever. Let’s dip right into it!
It’s all about the science
Caffeine and THC. That’s the magical combination here, and the chemistry behind it is actually pretty interesting, if you are into that sort of thing. For starters, let’s look into caffeine. It’s common knowledge that caffeine is the compound that does most of the work of waking you up every morning, but how it actually works goes beyond that. For one, it boosts the effects of serotonin and dopamine in your brain, blocks adenosine (the hormone that makes you feel tired), and increases blood flow. In short, things you want to happen before starting your day.
In regards to THC, you already know the drill; it’s a compound that mimics the natural cannabinoids in our bodies pretty well, attaching easily to the receptors of the brain and giving us the high we crave. The important thing to notice here is that this mechanism helps us to release dopamine by manipulating our brain cells, which brings us back to caffeine: a pleasant feedback loop where coffee makes us more receptive to dopamine, and weed makes us produce more of the stuff in our brain.
However, the effect might not be the one you expect, as the combination of THC and caffeine can be somewhat of a “calming euphoria”, where relaxation can mix with a mental boost that can be great for creativity and productivity. And for a Monday morning, for example, that might be everything you need to kickstart a great week overall.
The delicate art of combining weed and coffee
So, now that you know how it works and what it can do for you, there are a couple ways you can go with cannabis coffee: drinks or edibles. But, before starting, we suggest you go easy and experiment, not because you can end up with a potent concoction (although that is possible), but because both coffee and weed have very strong flavors that can easily overwhelm you. We suggest you select a coffee with a strong flavor, and not vary it too much, letting the cannabis give it the actual variation of flavors.
So with that out of the way, let’s talk about recipes. There are a myriad of ways you can mix these two wonderful ingredients. Obviously, the easiest way to do so is infusing your coffee with THC, which gives you a quick way to enjoy this magical combination each morning. To ensure that is done right, though, you need very finely chopped weed, so we suggest you check out HØJ’s KLIP Slicer, which doesn’t grind the buds, but instead slices them perfectly, ensuring you have prime material to work with to make your infusion.
Okay, so the day before you actually want to drink your cannabis coffee, make a quick cannabutter by boiling a couple of cups of water and add two tablespoons of butter, or coconut oil if you prefer, stir everything, and bring the heat down to a gentle simmer before adding the weed. Let the concoction cook for about 40 minutes, so the THC absorbs into the butter. Once it is ready, take the cannabutter out of the heat, pass it through a strainer to filter whatever was left of the weed, and voilá! You got your special water to brew coffee, so next morning, just use it instead of regular water on your coffee machine.
However, don’t think that this little DIY project is the only way to enjoy the magical combination of caffeine and THC; mixing both is proving so popular, that even Keurig, the popular coffee machine maker, is making special weed pods so you can easily prepare a cup of “marijoe” without any additional effort. Of course, we still recommend you to prepare your own brew by selecting your favorite strains and THC content, but this shows just how far we already are when it comes to having the absolutely perfect morning coffee. Have you given it a try yet? Please, tell us how it went! And good morning!
Author: Shaggy
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