Coffee with honey: A sweet twist or a bitter mismatch?

I’m a long-time coffee drinker, yet the thought of drinking coffee with honey never occurred to me. I immediately associate this sweet and viscous substance with tea when I think of honey. I frequently sweeten my nighttime tea with manuka honey, which offers dozens of amazing health benefits. Yet the concept of putting honey in my coffee never occurred to me.

While tea and honey are a common food pairing, can coffee also be sweetened with honey? After all, both are warm beverages that serve as the perfect environment for honey to melt in. The concept of coffee with honey intrigues me, so I set out to learn everything I could about this interesting coffee and sweetener pairing. Here’s what to know about using honey to sweeten your coffee.

Pros of sweetening coffee with honey

To learn about the advantages of sweetening coffee with honey, I spoke to California Master Beekeeper and founder of Swarmed, Mateo Kaiser.

Honey elevates coffee flavors

According to Kaiser, one of the most significant benefits of sweetening coffee with honey is its flavor complexity. “Unlike sugar, which is purely sweet, honey carries unique tasting notes influenced by the flowers bees forage on,” says Kaiser.

“Ordinary honey in the U.S. includes clover, wildflower, orange blossom, and buckwheat. Clover honey is mild and versatile, blending well with most coffees. Wildflower honey offers subtle floral and herbal notes that pair beautifully with medium roast coffees. Orange blossom honey, with its bright, citrusy character, enhances lighter roasts, while dark, malty buckwheat honey brings depth to espresso or dark roast coffees. If you’re looking for a natural way to add to your coffee’s flavor profile, experimenting with these varieties can be really sweet”, he shares.

Hearing Kaiser’s insight on which roasts to pair with which different types of honey got me even more intrigued to see how sweetening my coffee with honey could elevate the flavors.

Health benefits

Beyond flavor enhancements, adding honey to sweeten your coffee could also offer health benefits. Jack Savage, Founder & CEO of Everyday Dose Coffee, shared, “Honey is naturally anti-inflammatory and packed with antioxidants, making it a much healthier option than artificial sweeteners or chemicals. Just be mindful not to overheat [your honey]; keeping it below 140°F preserves its benefits. For the best results, mix it into warm drinks.”

Research supports Savage’s claims, too, such as in this study, where researchers explored the antioxidants in honey, such as phenolic acids and flavonoids, that can help reduce oxidative stress in the body. The anti-inflammatory effects of coffee itself, combined with the potential for honey to reduce inflammation, could make for the perfect pairing to fight inflammation by drinking coffee with honey. Other research studies have found that buckwheat honey may offer more anti-inflammatory benefits.

The potential health benefits of honey also extend beyond its anti-inflammatory properties. Honey can provide a healthy energy boost due to its carbohydrate content. It contains a healthy dose of essential vitamins and minerals such as Calcium, Vitamin C, and various B vitamins.

Cons of sweetening coffee with honey

Coffee cup on a saucer — Arturo Añez / Pixabay

Before you go dumping honey into your morning cup of Joe, it’s also important to acknowledge that sweetening coffee with honey has its drawbacks, too.

Honey may clash with some coffee

When pairing coffee with honey, it seems the roast of your coffee matters a great deal. Per Kaiser, “Not all types of honey will blend seamlessly with coffee. Certain honey—like buckwheat or eucalyptus—are strong and may clash with the coffee’s bitterness or overpower its subtler notes. That’s why pairing the right honey with the right roast is important.”

Changes coffee consistency

Another issue with adding honey to coffee, Kaiser adds, is consistency. “Honey is thicker than sugar or syrups and can be hard to dissolve, especially in iced coffee. If not stirred thoroughly, you might end up with pockets of intense sweetness,” he says.

Heat of coffee can impact health benefits

There’s also the issue of heat. Honey’s enzymes, antioxidants, and beneficial compounds can degrade at high temperatures, so adding it to boiling-hot coffee may reduce its health benefits. For those who want to preserve these properties, I suggest letting your coffee cool slightly before stirring in the honey.

Sugar content

An additional concern is authenticity. Adulterated honey, often mixed with sugar syrup, has recently become a recognized issue worldwide, even leading the World Beekeeping Congress (Apimondia) to cancel its upcoming honey award due to quality concerns, Kaiser adds. Honey is naturally high in sugar, which could mean you’re adding more sugar to your cup of coffee than you think.

While using honey in moderation to sweeten your coffee is acceptable, portion control is essential to control how much sugar you consume. In comparison to table sugar, honey contains less sugar per gram. However, a teaspoon of honey still contains, on average, 17 grams of sugar. If you’re using honey to replace a natural zero-calorie sweetener such as stevia or monk fruit, you might add more sugar to your day than you should.

Should you sweeten coffee with honey?

bees in honey comb. — Unsplash / Unsplash

From a birdseye perspective (or a bees-eye), there are advantages and disadvantages to consider when weighing if you should sweeten your coffee with honey. In moderation, sweetening coffee with honey can produce an elevated flavor worth exploring. Just be careful to measure your portion of honey, so you know exactly what you’re putting in your cup (with no hidden surprises).