# Can you EAT a spoon of coffee instead... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 2, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-a-spoon-of-coffee-instead/516057 "2009-11-02T15:50:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-a-spoon-of-coffee-instead/516057/1 "2009-11-02T15:50:05Z")
…of brewing it as a drink? They sell chocolate covered coffee beans, after all. The reason I ask is I was out with a friend and her son, and everywhere we went she had to find a ladies room to get rid of her morning pot of coffee, and the kid grumbled, ‘why don’t you just eat the coffee out of the can’. Actually, would that work? It would save a lot of trips to the bathroom! ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-a-spoon-of-coffee-instead/516057/2 "2009-11-02T16:08:13Z")
Because caffeine is a [diuretic](http://www.testcountry.org/10-important-caffeine-side-effects-that-people-do-not-think-about.htm). > [@](#): > > 1. Dehydration. One would think that since coffee is liquid, it can hydrate you. Actually, the caffeine in coffee and any other foodstuffs that has it is linked with dehydration. That is mainly because of caffeine’s diuretic properties. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-a-spoon-of-coffee-instead/516057/3 "2009-11-02T16:12:07Z")
You could, but it wouldn’t necessarily help the bathroom situation. AFAIK, caffeine’s diuretic effects have been [exaggerated](http://www.medicinenet.com/caffeine/page3.htm), but it does [stimulate the bowels](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_and_health). ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-a-spoon-of-coffee-instead/516057/4 "2009-11-02T16:15:22Z")
if a person could stomach it, the amount of instant coffee that equals a strong cup of coffee can dissolve in an eighth of a cup of water or less. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-a-spoon-of-coffee-instead/516057/5 "2009-11-02T16:18:01Z")
I gotta think _chewing_ coffee (as opposed to drinking it) will stain your teeth even worse, if pure aesthetics are to be taken into account. Instead of a pale uniform yellow, though, you’ll get unconsumed dark grains between your teeth. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-a-spoon-of-coffee-instead/516057/6 "2009-11-02T16:18:48Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > …of brewing it as a drink? They sell chocolate covered coffee beans, after all. The reason I ask is I was out with a friend and her son, and everywhere we went she had to find a ladies room to get rid of her morning pot of coffee, and the kid grumbled, ‘why don’t you just eat the coffee out of the can’. Actually, would that work? It would save a lot of trips to the bathroom! back when mrAru was in nuke school they used to dump instant coffee into cans of coke and swill it down, and you can get a caffeine buzz off eating expresso beans, so why not just melt good chocolate and mix in expresso grind coffee and pour into little molds [to make pretty] that way you can get the coffee and then chocolate antioxidants =) or just snarf down expresso beans dipped in chocolate that are widely commercially available =) ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-a-spoon-of-coffee-instead/516057/7 "2009-11-02T16:35:27Z")
in my experience brewed, perked, dripped or whatever is real coffee has way more diuretic affect than instant. instant is all the buzz without the pee. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-a-spoon-of-coffee-instead/516057/8 "2009-11-02T16:36:20Z")
Straight coffee beans taste very bitter and unpleasant, so I’d imagine ground coffee is just as bad. Plus it’s kind of hard to get cream and sugar on coffee grounds. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-a-spoon-of-coffee-instead/516057/9 "2009-11-02T17:01:09Z")
Interesting - thanks for sharing. I guess there’s always No-Doze pills! ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-a-spoon-of-coffee-instead/516057/10 "2009-11-02T17:12:40Z")
Here in Colombia at a coffee shop - Oma - they always serve a chocolate covered coffee bean with each cup of coffee. I might add that they are delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Spezza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-a-spoon-of-coffee-instead/516057/11 "2009-11-02T17:17:26Z")
Back at summer camp I used to eat coffee beans (don’t ask, I was a weird kid). So, yes, at least with coffee beans you can eat them and get a similar affect as liquid coffee. However, I’ll leave you all with one caveat, the beans go out the same way they went it. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-eat-a-spoon-of-coffee-instead/516057/12 "2009-11-02T19:31:44Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > Because caffeine is a [diuretic](http://www.testcountry.org/10-important-caffeine-side-effects-that-people-do-not-think-about.htm). It is rare to get dehydrated by caffeinated beverages. Most folks have a net fluid surplus when consuming caffeinated drinks.