The women in my office have discovered one of my favorite treats…chocolate-covered coffee beans! What’s not to like? They have all the four food groups: sugar, salt, fat, and caffeine. The theobromine in the chocolate has an enhancing effect on the caffeine, so that I get a nice wakey-wakey without the diuretic effect of coffee.
Chocolate-covered coffee beans (CCCB) are small, and being sweet and crunchy, are easy to eat by the handful. You may not notice the effects until you are up after midnight trying to find something else to do, or you may get jittery.
One of my network admin buddies used this as his drug of choice. If you had a special favor to ask, you brought him a bag of CCCB. I don’t know if he ever slept, but he could turn out the work.
This morning I was reading Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think, by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler, about the age of enlightenment and rationalism being based in the new coffee shops in Europe. The authors were fascinated with the influx of mass creativity percolating in the relatively class-free society that came to the coffee-shop to share ideas and argue subtle points of philosophy–there not being sports or Facebook in the 18th century.
However, I thought the most interesting part of it was the fact that people stopped being drunk from drinking beer and wine all day–water being too polluted to drink in any urban environment–to become sober and wired. Coffee was new, an import from the western continent, and it was stimulating to brain power and new ideas.
Marion Woodman, a Jungian psychoanalyst, has suggested that alcoholics are literally seeking “spirit” or spiritual experiences, while people who like uppers are looking for “enlightenment.” Coffee’s not cocaine, but it’s legal, cheap if you drink it straight, and ubiquitous. We still depend on coffee and caffeine to get our brains jump-started.
Still, the milk and sugar on the coffee beans are not on my weekly eating plan. I’m looking at snatching a few beans anyway because Saturday Cheat Day is coming. I want to stay awake to enjoy those forbidden fruits, including CCCB.





Such fun, true wisdom! Found you via UBC and tweeted your post!
Thanks for dropping by. I left you a comment.
I can understand the need for coffee, but I can’t stand the taste of it, not even in cookies , desserts or cakes. Guess I’ll never grow up 😀
Different strokes for different folks. I remember drinking coffee (with a lot of milk and sugar) from a bottle as a baby.
I’ve tasted it several times, both as a kid and as an adult. Way too bitter for my taste. The only time I’ve had a cup, was when I was having a really exhausing pain day and had to be at work. And that was a Choco Espresso with lots of milk. We all have different tastes 🙂 I prefer tea. I like the smell of coffee though.
I drink a lot of tea, too, especially the hot cinnamon spice that I get from B&N. Sometimes just hot water and a cinnamon stick. I’ve just had to learn to drink tea without sugar, and when you are from the South… :scream:
You are singing my song, Charlotte! I love CCCB – two of my favorite things combined. I could not exist most days without my coffee and the chocolate is just a blissful bonus! I love what you said about people drinking coffee looking for enlightenment, I love it and describe me to a “T”. Fun post! Glad I found you via UBC.
I’m even learning to do cocoa, almond butter and stevia for days when sugar is not on the list (Sunday to Friday). It’s amazing what one will do for a bit of cocoa. I only drink coffee at work though–$1 day all you can drink (or stomach!) . 😉
Love your site, and downloaded your play cards and book. What a great idea!