# Black coffee and dark chocolate **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Tags:** coffee\ **Created:** [November 22, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053 "2025-11-22T20:09:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/1 "2025-11-22T20:09:34Z")
Word is that black coffee and dark chocolate are good for your health while milk chocolate and coffee with cream lack those benefits. So here I am eating dark chocolate and drinking black coffee. What if next I drink a glass of milk? Does that destroy the healthful qualities of the coffee and chocolate? If so, how long should you wait between coffee and milk? What exactly is the negative effect of dairy upon the black and the dark? What about drinking black coffee while eating food made with dairy, like scones? (I love scones and could live on nothing else all day long. I drink indecent amounts of black coffee every day.) ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/2 "2025-11-22T20:28:27Z")
I think it’s important to state exactly what benefits are expected. If something is shown to extend an expected life of 70 years by a day or two (or perhaps lower your chance of some illness by 0.01%), then it’s not a big deal. It’s also important to balance a healthy diet with keeping yourself mentally cheerful. So eating sugary sweets is not good for your teeth or waistline. But if you enjoy having one jelly baby a day, then go ahead! ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/3 "2025-11-22T20:40:48Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > So here I am eating dark chocolate and drinking black coffee. What if next I drink a glass of milk? Does that destroy the healthful qualities of the coffee and chocolate? If so, how long should you wait between coffee and milk? Its the sort of question that demands a pause while you have a cigarette. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/4 "2025-11-22T20:40:53Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > drinking With regard to milk v. dark chocolate, it isn’t that milk corrupts the health benefits of chocolate. It’s the fact that there is typically more sugar and less cacao in milk chocolate as opposed to dark. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/5 "2025-11-22T20:53:54Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I think it’s important to state exactly what benefits are expected. > > If something is shown to extend an expected life of 70 years by a day or two (or perhaps lower your chance of some illness by 0.01%), then it’s not a big deal. > > It’s also important to balance a healthy diet with keeping yourself mentally cheerful. > So eating sugary sweets is not good for your teeth or waistline. > But if you enjoy having one jelly baby a day, then go ahead! I’m not sure how this relates to the question. The question is about relative benefits, not exact benefits. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/6 "2025-11-22T21:13:18Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I think it’s important to state exactly what benefits are expected. > > If something is shown to extend an expected life of 70 years by a day or two (or perhaps lower your chance of some illness by 0.01%), then it’s not a big deal. > > It’s also important to balance a healthy diet with keeping yourself mentally cheerful. > So eating sugary sweets is not good for your teeth or waistline. > But if you enjoy having one jelly baby a day, then go ahead! > [@Johanna](#): > > I’m not sure how this relates to the question. The question is about relative benefits, not exact benefits. Sorry if I didn’t make myself clear. If something has a clear benefit, then it is important and worth doing. “Look both ways before crossing a road” can save your life. However eating one jelly baby a day has a negligible affect on your life expectancy (assuming diabetes is not involved!) So if the benefits of small amounts of dark chocolate and black coffee are literally negligible, then it doesn’t matter if you go for a glass of milk. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/7 "2025-11-22T21:25:21Z")
Skip the coffee and just have the milk and dark chocolate. At least you get some protein. The chocolate isn’t gonna really do much for you in a quantity you could manage. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/8 "2025-11-22T21:29:28Z")
> [@glee](#): > > (assuming diabetes is not involved!) Or even if it is. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/9 "2025-11-22T21:34:43Z")
I could fit a jelly belly(whatever that is) in my diabetes diet. Not sure I would want to on any given day. I’d rather have ice cream or my beloved pudding. Real sugar is not a death sentence to a diabetic. In fact occasionally it saves a life. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/10 "2025-11-22T21:36:47Z")
Some people think things through for a long time. > [@Dark chocolate or milk chocolate?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-chocolate-or-milk-chocolate/181031): > > For me, it has to be dark. Totally dark all the way. Some people get it right fast: > [@CairoCarol](#): > > there is typically more sugar and less cacao in milk chocolate as opposed to dark It seems people who crave milk in their chocolate also want more sugar in it, and get less **[theobromine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine)** as a net result. It is the same for coffee, I guess. It also gives them pimples when they are in the right age bracket for that and it makes them fat. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/11 "2025-11-22T22:03:48Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Word is that black coffee and dark chocolate are good for your health while milk chocolate and coffee with cream lack those benefits. > > So here I am eating dark chocolate and drinking black coffee. “Word is..” is no reason whatsoever to make drastic changes in your dietary habits for health reasons. Could you tell us where you heard this tidbit of information, to help us better evaluation it? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/12 "2025-11-22T22:26:45Z")
“…evaluate it..” of course. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/13 "2025-11-22T22:58:50Z")
I’m also curious about the source. Re chocolate, i have a diabetic friend who is comfortable eating 80% chocolate but not chocolate with a lower cacao (and higher sugar) content. I think it’s generally true that chocolate is mildly healthful, but most chocolate bars have so much sugar and so little cacao that the sugar outweighs the cacao in terms of health impact. That’s true of basically all milk chocolate, but also true of many commercial “dark” chocolates. I’ve never heard that you shouldn’t put milk in coffee for health reasons. I’m sure you can add enough cream to outweigh the benefits of the flavanoids in coffee, and also that that beverage would be delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2025, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/14 "2025-11-23T01:40:36Z")
Well, milk and cream are high in calories. A little in the coffee shouldn’t do more damage. If it cuts the health benefit, that coffee _may_ offer. It will replace it with other nutrients. Then you gotta figure that out. Yeah, keep it simple. Enjoy your dark chocolate and black coffee and if you get a benefit, good. If not you should be no worse for wear. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2025, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/15 "2025-11-23T02:07:37Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > So here I am eating dark chocolate and drinking black coffee. What if next I drink a glass of milk? Does that destroy the healthful qualities of the coffee and chocolate? If so, how long should you wait between coffee and milk? As a factual matter, it would be impossible to do high quality studies on this. Study participants would have to accept randomization into groups with varying waiting periods, and stay in the same group for decades. That will not happen. The counter-example is smoking. People would not accept randomization there either, so many studies of different kinds had to be considered, per the [Breadford Hill criteria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford_Hill_criteria), and we, I hope, now all accept that no smoking is best. This research model only works when the effect of the dietary intervention is far greater than will occur in your “how long should you wait” question. This is going to sound absurd, but I think it is factual. Suppose you went to an orthodox rabbi and asked how long you should want after the chocolate, until the milk, in the event that you are/become Jewish, and the chocolate meal included meat (say, a mole burrito). The period of time the rabbi gave you would be no more a scientific fact than what we can provide. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2025, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/16 "2025-11-23T02:37:28Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > The chocolate isn’t gonna really do much for you in a quantity you could manage. That sounds like a challenge! ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2025, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/17 "2025-11-23T02:42:28Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > the chocolate meal included meat (say, a mole burrito). The period of time the rabbi gave you would be no more a scientific fact than what we can provide. [Rocking] “…But House of Shammai dissents.” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2025, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/18 "2025-11-23T05:36:05Z")
It seems like everyone’s been saying it for some years now. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2025, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/19 "2025-11-23T05:40:09Z")
Naw, that’s not what I’ve heard. I’ve heard what i posted above. > [@Black coffee and dark chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/13): > > I’m also curious about the source. Re chocolate, i have a diabetic friend who is comfortable eating 80% chocolate but not chocolate with a lower cacao (and higher sugar) content. I think it’s generally true that chocolate is mildly healthful, but most chocolate bars have so much sugar and so little cacao that the sugar outweighs the cacao in terms of health impact. That’s true of basically all milk chocolate, but also true of many commercial “dark” chocolates. I’ve never heard that you should… I suspect what you’ve heard has been modified a little by the game of telephone. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2025, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053/20 "2025-11-23T07:26:38Z")
One thing to consider with coffee and dark chocolate is that both of those things can contain aflatoxins. In moderation, probably fine, but if one is already elevated, might want to cut back. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-coffee-and-dark-chocolate/1025053.md?page=2)