Coffee Candy – An Addictive Treat You Never Knew You Needed
The Home Grounds team starts every morning with coffee. Whether we pull espresso shots, geek out over the Aeropress, or make cappuccinos with a classic Moka pot, our work and life revolve around that caffeinated goodness.
After the fourth or fifth cup of coffee, however, the appeal starts to wane. The flavor is still delicious, but our bellies are full, and the caffeine jitters are kicking in. Now is the time to turn to coffee candy.
Keep reading for our list of the top four best coffee candies this year.
At A Glance:
- Best Overall: United Coffee Candy
- Best Assorted Hard Coffee Candies: Adams & Brooks Coffee Rio Variety Pack
- Best Basic Coffee Truffles: Elit Chocolate Gourmet Collection
The 4 Best Coffee Candies
Well-balanced, nuanced, and complex, a well-brewed cup of coffee is a wonderful thing. Grinding, brewing, and drinking coffee is a meditative experience that makes the most hectic days bearable. But sometimes, that caffeinated moment of zen gets lost in the shuffle of a busy morning.
The best coffee candy saves the day when you want real coffee flavor without the process. Whether you like hard candy, chocolate, or caramel with a chewy coffee center, there’s a perfect coffee candy on this list.
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United Coffee Candy |
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SEE ON AMAZON
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Adams & Brooks Coffee Rio Pack |
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see on amazon
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Gourmet Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans |
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SEE ON AMAZON
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Elit Chocolate Gourmet Collection |
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SEE ON AMAZON
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1. United Coffee Candy – Best Overall
Specifications
Package Size: 4.9 oz., pack of three
- Candy Type: Hard Coffee Candy
- Flavors: Coffee
United Coffee Candy is great for people who enjoy the rich flavor of delicious beans. Imported from Thailand, these hard candies taste like a slightly sweetened coffee with just a hint of cream, almost like a cappuccino flavor. With 30 pieces in each bag, this 3-pack is enough to share with the entire office, and it makes an excellent addition to a candy bowl for visiting guests.
2. Adams & Brooks Coffee Rio Pack – Best Assorted Hard Candies
Specifications
Package Size: 5.5 oz., 4-pack
- Candy Type: Hard Coffee Candy
- Flavor: Assorted
Adams & Brooks Coffee Rio hard coffee candy is high quality and offers a delightful selection of candies designed to appeal to any type of coffee lover. This assorted variety pack includes Kona coffee, original, Irish creme mint, and a delicious latte candy.
Each candy is individually wrapped, making these the perfect addition to a candy bowl or a great gift bag add-on.
A great tip? You can use coffee-flavored candies as convenient ingredients in homemade coffee syrups.
3. Gourmet Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans – Best Chocolate-Covered Espresso Candy
Specifications
Package Size: 1 pound
- Candy Type: Chocolate Espresso Beans
- Flavors: Dark, milk, and white chocolate
This one-pound bag of chocolate-covered espresso beans is a chocolate-and-coffee lover’s dream come true. With dark, white, and milk chocolate coatings, these chocolate-covered espresso beans are a peppy snack that will surely help you make it through the workday.
Chocolate-covered espresso beans are versatile. You can eat them by themselves, but they also make great garnishes for desserts, ice cream, or coffee-flavored drinks like a cappuccino or latte.
4. Elit Chocolate Gourmet Collection – Best Basic Coffee Truffles
Specifications
Package Size: 1 box
- Candy Type: Truffles
- Flavors: Assorted
The Elit Chocolate Gourmet Collection is for coffee lovers who enjoy the simplicity of a great cup of coffee. These truffles epitomize pure, simple chocolate-and-coffee joy in a box.
There are three flavors, each a carefully chosen pairing of chocolate and coffee: dark chocolate filled with Turkish coffee cream, milk chocolate with espresso cream, and white chocolate with cafe latte cream inside. The appeal of these pairings is explained by chocolate expert Megan Giller, author of Bean to Bar Chocolate (1).
One important thing that I came to note is that the chocolate you are pairing has to be sweeter than what you’ll be pairing your chocolate with.
So the darker chocolate has been paired with the stronger coffee.
Coffee Candy Buying Guide
When shopping for the best coffee candies, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by choice. Short of trying every coffee-flavored candy under the sun, how do you know which works best for you and your palate? Keep reading for our guide to picking out the best coffee candy.
Package Size
Coffee candy comes in either bulk packaging, gift boxes, or travel-size packages. The type of packaging you choose should depend on whether you plan to share or to keep the candies in your personal stash.
Another important consideration is the time it will take you to finish the coffee candy. Though individually wrapped candies last a while, chocolate-covered espresso beans can go stale and lose their fresh coffee flavor.
Coffee Candy Type
Coffee candy comes in three general types: truffles, caramels, and hard candies.
Hard coffee candy is great for a regular coffee pick-me-up when you can’t brew a cup of coffee, but it’s also great in recipes. Melt high-quality hard coffee candies down to use as a coffee flavor additive in homemade truffles, coffee syrups, or even cookie decorations.
Chocolate coffee truffles, on the other hand, are indulgent treats for days when you just need to treat yourself or a loved one.
They come in decorative gift boxes and add a touch of sophistication to any dessert or ice cream.
Coffee-flavored caramels strike the perfect balance between sweet and bitter. Coffee provides a bold and mildly bitter flavor, while the caramel adds wonderful creamy sweetness to balance things out.
Flavors
Coffee candies come in a variety of different flavors. While the default flavor is plain coffee, many coffee candy brands also offer latte, espresso, or cappuccino flavor – or more decadent options like Tiramisu or Irish Cream.
There is some variation in coffee candy flavors among brands. Hard candy has a much more pronounced coffee flavor that can border on bitterness. Coffee caramels are much creamier, reminiscent of an actual cappuccino.
Coffee and candy is a natural pairing, according to science (2). Professor Alexander Wieck Fjældstad of Arahus University explains:
When people were tested after drinking coffee, they became more sensitive to sweetness, and less sensitive to bitterness.
In other words, coffee doesn’t just make life sweeter; it makes candy sweeter, too.
The Verdict
Home Grounds suggests the coffee-flavored candies from United Coffee Candy if you’re looking for the best overall coffee candy. With a balanced, creamy flavor, this coffee candy will satisfy both the straight-black coffee lover and the cafe latte connoisseur at the office.
What’s your favorite coffee candy? Let us know by dropping a comment below, in our Home Grounds Facebook group, or by following us on Instagram.
FAQs
Yes, most coffee candies contain caffeine if they are made with real coffee. However, read the label carefully, as some coffee candies only use coffee extract and are caffeine free.
The number of chocolate-covered espresso beans you should eat daily depends on your caffeine tolerance and the type of coffee bean you’re eating.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, healthy adults should consume no more than 400 milligrams of caffeine daily (3). This is approximately equivalent to 40 chocolate-covered espresso beans. However, if your chocolate-covered espresso beans recipe uses stronger Robusta coffee or darker chocolate, you may need to cut this number in half.
Yes, most coffee candy is safe to give to kids in moderation. Read the nutrition label carefully to ensure there is no caffeine before offering a piece to a child.
References
- Guevara, J. (2018, February 13). Chocolate Pairings: Tips From a Fine Cacao Expert. Retrieved from https://perfectdailygrind.com/2018/02/chocolate-pairings-tips-fine-cacao-expert/
- Romero, T. (2020, April 21). Do you crave coffee and chocolate? Science can explain why. Retrieved from https://www.phillyvoice.com/do-you-crave-coffee-and-chocolate-science-explain-why/
- Food an Drug Administration. (2021). Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much? U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/spilling-beans-how-much-caffeine-too-much
