There’s now a coffee shop in New York City where you can get a caffeine jolt, then come back down with the help of marijuana-infused coffee.
Brooklyn’s Caffeine Underground is now serving coffee infused with cannabidiol, also known as CBD and the component in marijuana responsible for the mellow feeling.
Located at 447 Central Ave. in Bushwick, Caffeine Underground’s infused coffees come from Flower Power Coffee Co., whose motto is to “enhance the life experience of health-conscious consumers.” They’re brewed from individual packets and taste no different from regular coffee.
Owner Ian Ford describes the effect to Bushwick Daily, which first reported on the CBD-infused coffees, as subtle: “you won’t consciously be aware that it’s working until you’re in traffic, and you’re not as upset as you normally would be.”
To clarify, the cannabis plant has more than 100 cannabinoid compounds, but only tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) actually causes hallucinations. Cannabidiol, or CBD, has mild to no psychoactive properties and even boasts proven health benefits like lowering inflammation and relieving pain. Most importantly, CBD is legal.
There’s a growing movement within the food world advocating for use of CBD as another ingredient in the enjoyment of your meal (or coffee). New York City has a thriving underground scene for private “dankquets” where chefs experiment with both CBD and marijuana-infused meals.
If you’d like to learn how to cook with it yourself, we took a class on how to do it at Brooklyn Kitchen (where the chef used oregano — it’s up to you to source your own marijuana, which remains illegal for recreational use in New York City).
Many Americans — and 62% of New Yorkers — support the legalization of marijuana both recreationally and as an anecdotally proven treatment for symptoms of cancer and PTSD.
But we have to wonder. Doesn’t the caffeine kick counteract the CBD’s mellowing effect?
Or maybe this is finally the purpose decaf coffee has been looking for.
