Coconut oil coffee is brewed coffee blended with a spoonful of coconut oil until it turns creamy and frothy, a cousin of bulletproof coffee. It is popular with keto and low-carb drinkers as a sugar-free alternative to creamer. Here is how to make it properly, which coconut oil to use, and an honest look at what it does and does not do.
How to Make Coconut Oil Coffee
- 1 cup (8 oz) hot brewed coffee, medium or dark roast
- 1 to 2 teaspoons unrefined coconut oil, up to 1 tablespoon once you are used to it
- 1 teaspoon butter (optional, for a richer, bulletproof-style drink)
- Sweetener or cinnamon to taste (optional)
Brew your coffee as usual. A medium or dark roast stands up best to the coconut flavor.
Pour the hot coffee into a blender and add the coconut oil, plus butter if using.
Blend on high for 20 to 30 seconds, until light brown and foamy. Vent the lid or hold a towel over it, as hot liquid expands in a blender.
Pour into a warm mug, sweeten or spice if you like, and drink while hot, before the oil starts to separate.
- Blend, don’t stir. Stirred in with a spoon, the oil floats on top as a greasy film. Blending emulsifies it into a creamy foam. A handheld milk frother works if you don’t have a blender.
- Start small. A full tablespoon of oil on an empty stomach upsets some people’s digestion. Begin with a teaspoon and work up.
- Keep it warm. Coconut oil turns solid below about 76°F (24°C), so it separates as the coffee cools.
Which Coconut Oil Is Best for Coffee?
Pressed from fresh coconut meat and lightly processed, so it keeps a gentle coconut aroma that pairs well with chocolatey, dark-roasted coffee.
Made from dried coconut and processed to remove the flavor and smell. Choose it if you want the creamy texture without any coconut taste.
What Coconut Oil Coffee Does and Doesn’t Do
Coconut oil coffee is often sold online as an energy, metabolism or immunity booster. The evidence is much less exciting than the claims.
- Gives coffee a creamy, latte-like body with no sugar or carbs.
- Adds fat and calories, which some people find keeps them full through the morning.
- Fits a keto or low-carb way of eating.
- The MCT claims. Most of the fat in coconut oil is lauric acid. The medium-chain fats used in energy and metabolism studies make up only a small share of it, and those studies mostly used pure MCT oil, not coconut oil.
- Immune boosting. Lab findings on lauric acid have not been shown to translate into stronger immunity from drinking it.
- “Healthy fat.” Coconut oil is mostly saturated fat (see below).
The Saturated Fat Question
About 82 percent of the fat in coconut oil is saturated, more than butter. One tablespoon has roughly 120 calories and around 11 grams of saturated fat. In a 2017 advisory, the American Heart Association concluded that coconut oil raises LDL (“bad”) cholesterol like other saturated fats, and advised against using it. For people who need to lower their cholesterol, the AHA recommends keeping saturated fat to about 6 percent of daily calories, roughly 13 grams on a 2,000-calorie diet. A single tablespoon uses up most of that, before any butter.
That does not make an occasional coconut oil coffee dangerous, but it is a treat rather than a health drink. If you have high cholesterol or heart disease, talk to your doctor before making it a daily habit.
Who Coconut Oil Coffee Suits
It suits keto and low-carb drinkers who want a creamy coffee without sugar, and anyone curious about the bulletproof style who prefers coconut to butter. If you are watching calories or saturated fat, a splash of milk is the lighter choice. For the full butter-and-MCT version, see our keto coffee recipe.
Sources
- Sacks FM et al. Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association. Circulation, 2017.
- American Heart Association. Top Things to Know: Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease.
Former roastery owner and coffee tour operator. Steve spent five years roasting coffee for his own shop and wholesale customers. More about Steve