Coffee, a hot drink made using coffee beans, is popular worldwide. About 2 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day in the world.
People drink coffee when they wake up to keep awake during the day or any time they feel like a caffeine kick.
The popularity of coffee makes it seem like it’s for everyone. But some people have a hard time figuring out whether they should drink coffee or not. A good example is vegans.
Who Are Vegans?
Vegans are people who don’t take meat or animal products. These individuals champion the rights of animals and feel it’s wrong to kill them for food or take away their products which are theoretically meant for their offspring.
For example, cow’s milk which is often used to brew coffee beverages like lattes, is considered by vegans a food for their calves.
Vegans also insist on consuming ethically – sourced foods or beverages. These are foods produced using processes that don’t damage the environment, by workers who are fairly compensated for their labor, and without harmful chemicals.
With these principles in mind, you can see why some vegans are skeptical about coffee. Although most people understand their feelings concerning animal products such as dairy, there is some debate about coffee beans.
Can vegans drink coffee beverages made purely from coffee beans? The answer to that lies in finding out whether coffee beans are vegan. To answer that question, we must look at some information concerning coffee beans.
What are Coffee Beans?
Coffee beans are the roasted seeds of the coffee plant. They are harvested from coffee trees which are flowering bushes that produce red, yellow, or purple fruits called cherries that contain coffee seeds.
These cherries are processed through wet hulling, honey, wet, and natural processing to reveal the coffee seeds within. The seeds are then dried, roasted, and packaged for sale.
Some vegans are skeptical about drinking coffee because they think coffee beans are processed using animal products. It’s good to note that no animal products or animals are involved in producing coffee beans.
Since coffee beans are fully produced from plants, we can say they are vegan. With these facts in mind, vegans do not have to avoid drinking beverages made strictly from coffee beans, such as black coffee.
If you are unsure about the coffee beans in the market and feel they are not vegan, you can always buy those with the words 100% vegan on them. These coffee beans are usually produced with Vegans and their principles in mind.
What happens to vegans who want to drink coffee with creamer or milk? Is that impossible? No.
Vegans can use vegan creamers such as Soy creamer, Hemp creamer, Coconut creamer, and oat milk creamer. Some popular brands that produce vegan coffee creamers are Mooala, Califia Farms, Nutpods, and Laird Superfood.
Most vegan coffee creamer producers also have plant-based milk alternatives for vegans. Some examples are Almond Milk, Cashew milk, Macadamia milk, Flax seed milk, and Oat Milk.
Are Decaffeinated Coffee Beans Vegan?
You may have encountered decaf coffee beans and wondered if they are vegan. That’s because some of the processes used to extract caffeine from coffee beans may include the use of materials that are not vegan.
Caffeine is extracted from coffee beans to make decaf using solvents, water, or carbon dioxide.
Some examples of solvents used to process decaf beans are Ethyl Acetate and Methylene Dichloride. These solvents are not sourced from animals or animal products, so their use in decaffeination does not go against veganism.
If the chemical solvents used to process decaf put you off from taking it, you can always opt for decaf coffee processed through the Swiss Water method that uses pure water.
There is a difference between decaf coffee processed using chemical solvents and that produced using the Swiss Water method.
Swiss water decaf coffee is more flavorful than solvent-produced decaf, which some people say tastes a bit flat. It is a popular decaf option that most vegans who suffer from caffeine-sensitivity issues take whenever they feel like drinking coffee beverages that are free of caffeine.
If you are a vegan looking for decaf coffee, you can choose Swiss processed decaf coffee. The processes used to produce it are chemical-free, and it’s more flavorful than other types of decaf coffees.
How to Pick Authentic Vegan Coffee Beans
You may insist on buying vegan coffee but feel unsure of the authenticity of some vegan coffee products on the market. There are many fake vegan coffees on the market, so that’s understandable. How do you tell the real apart from the fake?
Start by looking at the price. As we said, vegans insist on drinking ethically-sourced coffee such as Organic and Fair Trade Coffee beans produced with animal and human rights in mind.
Such coffee is a bit more expensive than regularly produced coffee beans which average $ 14 – $ 20 a bag at supermarkets and grocery stores. The best place to buy vegan coffee beans is from ethical coffee roasters such as Kickapoo Coffee Roasters and Higher Ground Roasters.
You may want to shop for vegan coffee from grocery stores but are unsure how to pick vegan-friendly brands. Here are some attributes to look out for.
- Coffee brands with labels such as Fair Trade Coffee, Organic Coffee, or Shade Grown Coffee.
- Organic coffee beans without any harmful ingredients in them such as allergens or artificial flavorings
- Coffee beans packaged in bio-degradable coffee packaging
Conclusion
The next time you brew a cup of black coffee, you can be sure you’re taking a vegan drink.
Coffee contains lots of nutrients and antioxidants that will benefit your body. Drinking a cup or two regularly can lower your risk of suffering ailments such as Type 2 Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and Cancer.
Watch out for the side effects of consuming too much coffee, such as acidity, anxiety, and fatigue. These problems will affect you whether or not you drink vegan coffee.
But one thing’s for sure, you don’t have to worry about breaking your Vegan principles if you drink black coffee.
Remember to add vegan-friendly additives such as plant-based creamer and milk alternatives from plants like oat milk for a true vegan beverage.
There are many brands of vegan coffee on the market you can try. Some examples are;
- Conscious Coffees
- Birds & Beans Coffee
- Ethical Bean coffee
- Concentric Lift Sustainable coffee
- Well Bean Premium Coffee
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