Green coffee beans might be the next coffee trend that you don’t want to miss out on. And they are especially interesting because they can be utilized in a few different ways.
If you are thrilled by the idea of having control over every step of coffee-making, you might be interested in trying home coffee roasting. Or you might have heard about the health benefits of green beans and want to try them out as a supplement for weight loss.
At a Glance: Best Green Coffee Beans
Whatever the reason, we have found some of the best green coffee beans online, for both ambitious home roasters and health enthusiasts. We’ll also answer the most common questions about home coffee roasting and health benefits, and give you all the essential information about unroasted green beans.
Quick Summary: Best Green Coffee Beans
 | Our Top Choice Fresh Roasted Coffee Colombian Green Unroasted Coffee |
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 | Morning Hills Green Unroasted Coffee Beans |
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 | Primos Coffee Co Unroasted Green Coffee Beans |
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 | Smokin Beans Coffee Papua New Guinea Unroasted Green Coffee Beans |
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 | Grand Paradé Coffee Ethiopian Sidamo Guji Unroasted Green Coffee Beans |
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 | Health Embassy Ground Green Coffee Bean 100% Natural |
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 | Nature's Craft Pure Green Coffee Bean Extract Energy Supplement |
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What Are Green Coffee Beans?
Green coffee beans are simply coffee beans that haven’t been roasted. This is how they come out of the coffee cherries. While looking different, the green beans also taste different because most of the taste that we experience in our morning cup is acquired during the roasting process.
So consuming unroasted green coffee gives the drink a completely different texture and taste as well as a bigger caffeine boost since none of the caffeine content is lost during the roasting.
When stored properly, the unroasted coffee beans can last a lot longer, for up to 6 months to a year! They also tend to be cheaper. So you can buy them in bulk, roast them in small batches, and still have fresh-roasted specialty coffee at home for months.
The extract from the green coffee beans can be also used as a dietary supplement because of their chemical composition which is claimed to help with weight loss benefits, but more on that later.
Best Green Coffee Beans For Roasting
Before we get into the logistics, let’s look at our list of the best green coffee beans on the market that can be used for at-home roasting.
Fresh Roasted Coffee Colombian Green Unroasted Coffee
Sitting right at the top is Fresh Roasted Coffee Colombian Green Unroasted Coffee. Colombian coffee is very popular when it comes to single-origin options, so it would be a safe go-to for those embarking on a journey of roasting their beans at home.
The Fresh Roasted Coffee company pays exceptional attention to sourcing and their Arabica beans are selected from ethical farmers and growers. They are extensively sampled and tested to ensure the best quality and contain no additives, artificial flavors, or preservatives.
The flavor profile of these coffee beans includes honey and cherry notes, together with a balanced mouthfeel. The light roast highlights sweet and citrusy essence and when roasted dark, you can expect a much deeper and more complex flavor.
Morning Hills Green Unroasted Coffee Beans
A smaller 2-pound bag of 100% high-grade Arabica beans showcases the flavors of Costa Rican coffee which is smooth, light, clean, and has an incredible aroma. Morning Hill Coffee’s roasters are certified coffee graders and the company ensures that a portion of their profits go to charitable organizations.
This coffee comes from the region of Naranjo, which is where a group of coffee producers works under the cooperative Naranjo Coffee Growers. Together, they strive to improve coffee quality and production, as well as provide education about sustainable coffee farming practices.
Costa Rica SHB Naranjo La Rosa EP is a fully washed coffee that’s graded at 84.25 and, when roasted, is said to have a lemon-like aroma and a taste profile of dark chocolate and almond.
Primos Coffee Single Origin Unroasted Green Coffee Beans
The green coffee beans from Nicaragua by Primos Coffee are classified as high-bean and shade-grown. They are fully washed and naturally dried. The unroasted coffee beans have consistent quality, are produced sustainably, and have an ideal moisture content of 11-13%.
The unroasted green coffee beans are recommended for a medium roast that would showcase its delicate tasting notes and a gentle well-balanced profile. This coffee from Central America has a citrus acidity and pleasant cacao notes with a deep crema profile.
Smokin Beans Coffee Papua New Guinea Unroasted Arabica Green Coffee Beans
The Papua New Guinea coffee from Smokin Beans Coffee is a fully washed bean that comes from the Kimel Plantation in Wahgi Valley and is grown at an altitude of 1,580 masl. Smokin Beans Coffee is family-operated and only sources coffee that’s sustainably farmed through partners who pay their workers fairly.
The Kimel Plantation was established in 1974 and is now owned by traditional landowners. It’s an estate that houses 432 producers, offers schooling, and even has medical facilities. Clean running water has been made available to the producers and their families, as well as from the Kimel River to use for processing their coffee.
Once roasted, these beans are noted for a tasting profile of milk chocolate, mild orange, and brown sugar.
Grand Paradé Coffee Organic Ethiopian Sidamo Guji Unroasted Green Coffee Beans
We couldn’t give you a list of the best-unroasted coffee beans and not include a representative from Africa. African coffee has a unique fruity and floral profile, so it would be fun to experiment with when roasting it at home.
The USDA Organic, Kosher, and Fair Trade coffee from the popular Sidamo region in Ethiopia is sourced from the Shilicho Co-op where it’s grown at high altitudes above 1,350 meters in rich volcanic soils and a cool climate.
This washed processed coffee is sold by Grand Paradé Coffee, which is a minority-owned and women-led company that only sources sustainable coffees. They build one-on-one farmer partnerships that are long-lasting and help to guarantee that the producers are paid premium prices for their crops.
The Ethiopian Sidamo Guji coffee is described as having a sweet and balanced cup with complex fruit notes and delicate floral aromas. The flavor profile includes peach, lemonade, mandarin, jasmine, and chocolate.
Best Green Coffee Beans Not For Roasting
As mentioned earlier, roasting is not the only option for using green coffee beans. So we’ve included a couple of additional options, one powdered and one in capsule form.
Health Embassy Ground Green Coffee Bean 100% Natural
For those who want to explore what unroasted coffee beans taste like, the Health Embassy provides high-quality powdered green coffee that has no additives and is full of nutrients that provide a boost for your body.
To make a hot beverage using this powder, mix 2-3 teaspoons of ground green coffee with a mug of hot water. Let it steep for around 5-15 minutes, depending on the taste, and then strain the hot liquid through a fine sieve or a filter.
Expect a different taste from what you get with fresh-roasted coffee. The green coffee tastes earthy and grassy, so we recommend adding some honey, stevia, or cinnamon to improve the taste. Some people also mix green coffee powder with matcha powder to create a super-boosted green latte.
Nature’s Craft Pure Green Coffee Bean Extract Energy Supplement
If the grassy taste of powdered green coffee beans doesn’t sound inviting to you but you still want to enjoy the nutritional benefits of the green unroasted coffee bean, the capsule version from Nature’s Craft might be a good choice.
A pack of 60 capsules with 800mg of green coffee in each one provides ultra potency and convenient use. These are essentially natural energy pills that are full of great antioxidants and nutrients to help with focus, energy, and clarity.
The capsules also have chlorogenic acid to lock in your skin’s moisture and give it some protection. To use these as a dietary supplement, it’s recommended that you take one capsule once a day. It’s also noted that you can get the best results by taking it 20-30 minutes before a meal with a glass of water.
What To Do With Them?
So, you got yourself the best-unroasted coffee beans online and now you’re wondering what to do with them. We’ll tell you all the tips, whether you’re keen to start exploring the process of home coffee roasting or you want to experiment with making a drink with unroasted coffee beans.
When Roasting
As is true of every step of production that comes before you can enjoy your delicious cup of coffee in the morning, the roasting process is not that simple and requires a certain level of expertise. But if you’re keen to start roasting your specialty coffee at home, we’ll give you some basic rules and advice to follow. Did you know that you can even roast your green coffee beans in a popcorn popper?
For starters, it’s important that you always roast coffee in small batches. This gives you more control over the delicate process, and inevitably, less waste if things don’t go too well.
The first change you’ll observe when roasting coffee is that the beans start turning yellow and have an earthy and grassy smell. Then they start releasing water and begin to crack, which is when the sugar in the beans caramelizes and the smell becomes very noticeable. If you stop the roasting process here, you will have a city roast.
If you keep roasting, the coffee beans will keep getting darker and there’ll be more cracking. If there’s smoke emitting from the beans, you are reaching the French roast. This is where you should stop. If you keep roasting beyond this stage, the beans are going to be burnt and the coffee will taste unpleasant and undrinkable.
When Not Roasting
When you buy green coffee beans, you don’t necessarily need to roast them. If you are interested in a different coffee experience, try preparing a hot drink using unroasted coffee beans.
There are two methods:
- Ground – After grinding the beans into a powder, add 2-3 teaspoons to a mug with hot water and let it soak for 10 minutes before straining the liquid with a fine sieve.
- Whole bean – When using whole unroasted coffee beans, soak them overnight first, then bring the water with the beans to a boil and let it simmer for around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. After that, let it cool completely before straining the liquid.
A mug of coffee prepared this way tastes different from the coffee you’re used to. It has a much milder taste that is closer to herbal tea rather than coffee. The drink doesn’t taste rich and strong as is typical for roasted coffee, but rather light and refreshing.
How Does Roasting Affect The Taste?
Freshness
The freshness of the roast makes a significant difference to the taste of your cup. But it’s not the best idea to drink the coffee as soon as you roast it either.
The roasting generates a lot of carbon dioxide which is the reason why the fresh-roasted coffee beans need to sit for around 7 days in order for the chemical to be eliminated. If you try to prepare the beans shortly after roasting, the coffee will taste unpleasant and sour. After the 7 days passes is when you get the freshest cup.
The freshest cup doesn’t last long though. As soon as the carbon dioxide dissipates, oxidation begins, the coffee starts going stale, and the flavor deteriorates. Then, it’s best to try to use up the coffee as soon as possible. As soon as the coffee is more than 4 weeks old (after the roasting date), it is pretty much expired and unusable.
Type Of Roast
Freshness is not the only thing that you need to be concerned about when roasting coffee. The freedom to decide what type of roast you want for your unroasted coffee beans might be the main reason for trying home coffee roasting.
Being able to choose the roast level gives you the room to experiment with different types of roast. You can observe how the roasting changes the flavor of the coffee beans, even though the beans are the same.
Normally, the coffee is recommended to be roasted dark for your espresso, which brings out the darker, stronger, and sweeter characteristics, that are known to work well when mixed with milk. If you’re preparing your coffee in a pour-over method, medium or even light roast is recommended, since they showcase the more delicate flavor notes hidden inside the bean.
Some brewing methods allow for experimentation and the roast profile you choose depends on your preference, such as Aeropress. So, when you buy unroasted green coffee beans of your favorite single-origin, you get the perk of switching up how you roast the same bag of beans.
Health Benefits And Risks
The coffee aficionados are not the only ones interested in green coffee beans. Unroasted coffee beans have a different chemical profile than roasted coffee. The abundant supply of chlorogenic acids is responsible for the belief that they can be classified as a form of superfood and a weight loss supplement.
The chlorogenic acids, which are normally lost during the roasting process, contribute to the potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that are supposed to provide health benefits, affect how the body handles blood sugar as well as improve metabolism.
Weight Loss Benefits
The belief that green coffee has an array of weight loss benefits was popularised when first presented as a miracle weight loss supplement by an American celebrity physician Dr. Oz. Since then, many health experts have refuted this notion but green coffee remains a popular supplement.
While the studies with mice have been successful and resulted in their reduced weight, the research results conducted with humans are not so consistent and don’t provide any definitive evidence.
Chronic Diseases
Apart from the weight loss properties, the chlorogenic acid found in green coffee is believed to help to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes or heart disease, especially by stabilizing the glucose levels in the body.
Risks
Green coffee beans are considered to be safe and most of its health risks are related to caffeine. Caffeine is not dangerous when consumed in moderate amounts. In fact, the intake of 400mg of caffeine a day is considered to be a safe amount for most adults.
However, caffeine can be dangerous in high doses and cause health risks such as sleep disturbances, anxiety, and increased blood pressure. In research conditions, mice also experienced significant calcium depletion which could mean that green coffee may negatively affect bone health.
Does It Work?
The limited research that suggests that we cannot be sure how much green coffee beans work for weight loss is appropriately reflected by mixed reviews. While some people say it is a complete waste of money, others report a reduction in weight and a slimmer waistline.
While green coffee beans might not provide a magic cure for weight loss, a significant amount of reviews say that they do a great job at controlling sugar cravings. This means that this supplement from green unroasted coffee beans could help to prevent heart disease and diabetes by improving metabolism and reducing blood pressure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Understanding unroasted green coffee beans and how to work with them or consume them can be a lot to take in. So, we’ve narrowed down a few questions that you might want answered.
How to Store Green Coffee Beans?
Once you have succeeded in making fresh-roasted coffee at home, it’s important to store it properly to make the coffee beans last as long as possible.
The main enemies of your fresh coffee beans are heat, air, moisture, and light, so it’s best to try to minimize exposure to these elements. The coffee beans are best stored in an airtight container, preferably made out of glass, metal, or ceramic material.
And while it used to be believed that coffee beans should be stored in the home freezer, this isn’t true. In the freezer, the coffee is exposed to excessive moisture and additionally, is also prone to absorbing unwanted flavors from your freezer. And nobody wants that!
How Long Do Green Coffee Beans Last?
When stored properly, green coffee beans last significantly longer than roasted coffee beans do. Usually, green coffee beans can last anywhere from six months to twelve months. Of course, this all depends on how well it’s stored.
Can I Drink Green Coffee On an Empty Stomach?
In short, yes. It’s usually recommended that green coffee is consumed before eating a meal so that blood glucose levels can be controlled and your food can be digested properly. Even the capsule form of Nature’s Craft Energy Supplement suggests taking green coffee tablets before you eat.
How Much Caffeine in Green Coffee Beans?
One of the many reasons green coffee beans are used in health supplements is due to the lower amount of caffeine present compared to roasted coffee beans. Since unroasted green coffee beans release less caffeine than roasted coffee beans do when they are brewed, a cup of green coffee usually only has about 50 mg of caffeine.
Choosing to Go Green
Whether you’re looking to buy some unroasted green coffee beans because you’re an ambitious home roaster and you want to experiment with what roast profile will best suit your preferences, or you’re interested in green coffee beans for their health-promoting properties, our list of options covers it all.
While the weight loss benefits of these coffee beans are not certain and more research is needed before the miraculous effects can be confirmed, there’s no doubt about the benefit of freshly roasting your coffee beans in terms of flavor.
If you want to experience your favorite coffee in its best condition, one week after the roasting is the perfect time to enjoy its authentic flavors. Roasting the coffee beans yourself also allows you to experiment with different levels and brewing methods.
Happy Caffeinating!
