The latest trend in high-end coffee is no longer a daily cortado or an at-home pour over. It's now all about marijuana-roasted beans. Washington-based marijuana company Fairwinds Manufacturing recently caused a stir in the market after debuting and selling a THC-infused ground coffee for both conventional coffeemakers and K-cups for cartridge-based brewers last week. However, their Catapult Cannabis Coffee isn't legal in most states.
Kian Abedini, owner and roastmaster at Los Angeles–based coffee company Compelling & Rich, found a way to lawfully bring marijuana roasts to the masses by conditioning the beans with marijuana to add aroma and taste without including any THC. "People who appreciate high-quality things tend to be more open-minded about vice and experiments," Abedini says. "In my experience, marijuana-conditioned coffees are 'sexy' and grab attention, but many of my customers in the past weeks have been equally interested in the conditioning process itself."
Compelling & Rich sells their cannabis-conditioned Eithiopia Yirgacheffe coffee online for THC-free at-home enjoyment. "For our African beans we recommend a drip-style brewer to experience the juicy acidity, but brewing immersion-style — like a French Press — works just as well."
For those out there who want to use their own beans and herbs for a stronger cup of cannabis-coffee, the DIY process is a little more involved. Here are two recipes — one for buttered marijuana-coffee for extra health benefits that does have THC in it — to try at home.
Cannabis-Infused Coffee
Ingredients
- 1/4 oz ground marijuana buds
- 8 tbsp ground coffee
- sweetener to taste
- cream or milk to taste
Makes 4 6-oz cups of coffee.
Directions
- Combine marijuana with coffee and brew as normal
- Add cream, milk, and/or sweeteners as desired
- Works with conventional coffeemakers, Turkish coffee pots, French presses, pour-overs, and drip-style methods
Buttered Cannabis Coffee
Ingredients
- 1/4 oz ground marijuana buds
- 1 stick unsalted, grass-fed butter
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 8 tbsp ground coffee
Create cannabis-infused butter:
- Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat
- Add ground marijuana buds
- Simmer on low for 45 minutes
- Pour the melted butter into small pan through a strainer to separate plant matter from melted butter
- Use melted cannabis butter immediately as needed and store the rest in the refrigerator for later
- Brew your coffee as normal
For the coffee:
- Combine 2 tbsp of cannabis butter and 1 tsp coconut oil with 2 cups freshly brewed coffee
- Blend in a blender until foam forms at the top of the mix