You may have seen the words “green coffee bean extract” on the ingredient labels of various energy drinks or even marketed as a supplement. Green coffee beans are unroasted coffee beans with a naturally green tint. For coffee drinkers, “green coffee” is not often a part of our everyday routine. Unless you’re roasting your own coffee beans, the average coffee drinker doesn’t come in contact with green coffee beans. Green coffee refers to the seeds of the raw coffee fruit before they undergo the roasting process, which gives a darkened color and complex flavor. Can you drink green coffee? Why is it called green coffee? In this guide, we’ll break down the answers to all of your “What is green coffee?” questions, from flavor to uses.
What is green coffee?
“Simply put, green coffee refers to unroasted coffee beans,” says Mike Perry, Klatch Coffee’s founder and roastmaster. Mike has a 30-year history in coffee roasting, using his chemical engineering background to develop the “peak of flavor” roasting method still used at Klatch Coffee today.
“Roasters like Klatch Coffee, which source beans from around the world, buy unroasted coffee beans, or “green” in industry jargon. Green coffee beans must be roasted to develop the flavor and aroma that coffee drinkers are familiar with before they can be brewed.”
According to Perry, “green coffee” suggests unroasted beans with a slightly green tint, and a transition to the more recognizable brown color as part of the coffee roasting process. Ironically, neither are really “beans.” Perry says what we consider a “coffee bean” is the seed at the middle of the coffee cherry, the fruit of the coffee plant. During various coffee processing methods, the fruit is removed, leaving only the seed — the part we later enjoy as roasted coffee.
Does green coffee taste like regular coffee?
The average coffee drinker probably has never tried green coffee, as almost all commercial coffee is roasted and ready to brew. “While it’s technically possible to brew green coffee without roasting it first, most drinkers wouldn’t describe the result as “coffee-like” – it won’t have much in common with the familiar flavors and aroma of coffee prepared with roasted beans you’re accustomed to. Some describe it as more like tea, ” Perry describes.
“You won’t find green coffee in the grocery aisle, and probably not at your favorite local cafe, either. Some roasters and importers do offer green, unroasted coffee to their customers – it’s intended mostly for home roasters who want to source high-quality beans, and then roast them on their own equipment.” While green coffee beans could be consumed, in theory, it’s not going to give you the traditional coffee taste you know and love.
Green coffee vs. regular coffee
The coffee roasting process creates the flavors we all know and love associated with drinking a cup of joe. Perry says that roasting beans alters the beans’ chemistry, making it possible to grind and brew your coffee. “The roasting process removes moisture and makes the beans more brittle and easier to grind. Green unroasted coffee beans, in contrast, aren’t going to work in your coffee grinder! As a result, most of the guidance for “brewing” green coffee beans often suggests boiling or soaking them whole without grinding. Before roasting green coffee beans, you won’t have that aroma you associate with coffee. The roasting process brings these out with exposure to high temperatures.
Use for green coffee beans
Farmers, producers, importers, and roasters use green coffee beans, taking them and roasting them to perfection into the coffee beans we know and love (dark roast, light roast, etc). Coffee roasters like Klatch Coffee often wait to roast coffee until beans are purchased, operating on a “roasted to order” basis. Perry says this process means the roastery has lots of green coffee on hand, and it is awaiting roasting in the future.
“In the green, unroasted format, it is stable and can be stored longer. Once it’s roasted, in contrast, the clock is ticking on freshness,” he shares. “For this reason, if you visit a coffee roaster, you’ll see quite a bit of green coffee in large bags, but very little roasted coffee sitting around. For Klatch, as a general rule, the only roasted coffee kept on hand should be awaiting pickup by a shipping carrier or staged for transfer to one of our cafes.
Green coffee beans are also used in various supplements. This unroasted form of coffee beans is believed to have high levels of chlorogenic acids, which can have multiple health benefits, such as helping to regulate blood sugar levels. “Much of the curiosity around green coffee may come from claimed health benefits touted around consumption. You can buy supplements containing the extract of green coffee if that’s something you want to experiment with without the hassle of trying to turn green, unroasted beans into something drinkable,” says Perry.
