What Is Coffee and How Can I Use It?

Here's everything worth knowing about coffee and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 324 recipes to cook tonight.

What is coffee?

Coffee  is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, called coffee beans, of the coffee plant.

Coffee consumption can lead to iron deficiency anemia in mothers and infants. Coffee also interferes with the absorption of supplemental iron. Interference with iron absorption is due to the polyphenols present in coffee.

Over 1,000 chemicals have been reported in roasted coffee; more than half of those tested (19/28) are rodent carcinogens. Coffee's negative health effects are often blamed on itscaffeine content. Instant coffee has a much greater amount of acrylamide than brewed coffee. Research suggests that drinking caffeinated coffee can cause a temporary increase in the stiffening of arterial walls.

Coffee is no longer thought to be a risk factor for coronary heart disease. One study suggests that it may have a mixed effect on short-term memory, by improving it when the information to be recalled is related to the current train of thought but making it more difficult to recall unrelated information.

Nutrition

Where found

Coffee is usually found in the beverages section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group

Coffee is a member of the Beverages US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

How much does coffee weigh?

Related

Beverages

Recipes using coffee

There are 324 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Chocolate Mint Coffee

Chocolate mint flavored coffee grounds blended with chocolate, mint, and vanilla extracts. A homemade flavored coffee blend that brews up like a peppermint mocha for a fraction of cafe prices.

Frosted Rich Brownies

Frosted rich brownies: low-fat brownies built on evaporated and powdered skim milk instead of butter, then crowned with a coffee-spiked cocoa frosting. Deeply chocolate without the heaviness.

Italian Coffee with Chocolate

Italian coffee with chocolate: equal parts strong hot coffee and Italian-style hot chocolate poured together, then crowned with whipped cream. A simplified take on Turin's classic bicerin.

Chocolate Almond Coffee

Chocolate almond coffee, a homemade flavored coffee blend with ground coffee, chocolate and almond extracts, and freshly grated nutmeg. Brew like regular coffee for a cafe-style drink at home.

Homemade Peanut Cookies

Homemade peanut cookies bake crisp butter dough laced with a shot of coffee and crowned with roasted peanuts. A simple cut-out cookie with a subtle mocha edge and a salty-sweet crunch on top.

Hot Baja Coffee

A new, delicious coffee made with kahlua and creme de cacao that can warm anyone up in the morning!

Banana Coffee Breakfast Shake

For those of us who cannot really chew in the morning, but still need some intake with nutritional value and the awakening effect of coffee - a breakfast which helps you and yours to make it through the day. Sour cream and heavy whipping cream instead of milk is handy, as they last longer in the fridge, and for the bananas you can also take those which are already brown.

Cardamom-Spiced Coffee

Cardamom-spiced coffee sweetened with condensed milk, in the Middle Eastern and South Asian style. A 4-ingredient brew that turns regular coffee into something exotic.

Campfire Coffee

Campfire coffee made the old cowboy way with just water and coarse ground beans. No filter, no machine, no fuss. The classic camping brew that wakes up the woods.

Buttered Rum Coffee

Try something new in the morning with this drink that has a buttery taste which is sure to perk you up in the morning.

Whole Wheat One Bowl Chocolate Cake

Moist chocolate cake made healthier with whole wheat pastry flour, canola oil, and buttermilk. Hot coffee deepens chocolate flavor for 12 servings.

Coffee & Orange Granita

Served either as a dessert, or perhaps a morning energizer in the summer months, this recipe took inspiration from the great combination that chocolate and orange offers, pairing the wonderful flavour of (good quality) coffee with the fresh citrus flavour of orange. Orange you glad there’s now a fat-free option that is sure to give you your much needed caffeine kick?

Auntie Lin's Pluto Coffee

Spiked coffee cocktail with 151 rum, Irish cream liqueur, and a fresh whipped cream cap. A boozy after-dinner sipper for cold nights and grown-up gatherings.

Flaming Cappuccino

Flaming cappuccino with Galliano liqueur, hot coffee, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream in a sugar-rimmed glass. A theatrical after-dinner showpiece.

Creamy Iced Coffee

Blender iced coffee whipped with chopped ice and powdered sugar into a frothy, frappuccino-style drink. Three ingredients, no espresso machine, ready in 5 minutes.

Godiva Irish Coffee

Godiva Irish coffee swaps the usual whiskey for chocolate cream liqueur and Irish cream, layered into hot coffee and topped with whipped cream. A 5-minute dessert cocktail for chilly nights.

Easy Iced Coffee

Easy iced coffee with instant coffee, sugar, and cold milk. A 5-minute shortcut to the coffeehouse classic, with a mocha variation using chocolate milk.

The Most Amazing Chocolate Cupcakes

Deeply moist chocolate cupcakes made with hot coffee, sour cream, and both cocoa and melted chocolate for double the richness. A from-scratch chocolate cupcake to crown with frosting or ganache.

St. Patrick's Day Grasshopper Pie Cupcakes

Indulge in the irresistible flavors of a classic grasshopper pie in cupcake form! These delightful treats feature rich chocolate cupcakes topped with a silky mint mousse and a luscious chocolate ganache, all dressed up in festive green. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations or any occasion that calls for a minty, chocolaty dessert, these cupcakes are as beautiful as they are delicious.

Cocoa Mocha Bundt Cake

Cocoa mocha bundt cake: a dark, deeply chocolatey bundt with a full cup of cocoa, brewed coffee, and buttermilk. Drizzle with caramel or chocolate sauce. From-scratch, no cake mix.

Vanilla Irish Coffee

Vanilla Irish coffee with hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and a vanilla-sweetened whipped cream float. The classic San Francisco-style cocktail upgraded with a touch of vanilla.

Rich Expresso Brownie Bars

Espresso brownie bars layered with a Kahlua-spiked cream cheese topping and feathered with melted chocolate for a marbled, bakery-window finish. Rich, fudgy, and built for a coffee-lover's dessert table.

Mexican Coffee

Cafe de olla style Mexican coffee simmers ground coffee with a cinnamon stick and sweetens with dark brown sugar (or piloncillo). Traditional rustic spiced coffee made in one pot.

Turkish Coffee

Traditional Turkish coffee brewed in an ibrik with cardamom and sugar. Triple-foamed, unfiltered, and rich with thick crema on top. Authentic 5-minute ritual.

Coffee Bean Brownies

Coffee bean brownies: thin sheet-pan brownies with Kahlua and strong brewed coffee in the batter, topped with warm fudgy cocoa frosting poured onto the hot tray. Makes 36.

All 324 recipes