Roasted and shelled hemp seeds are blended with organic coffee beans in this Colorado company's special blend. (Provided by Happy Heart Coffee)

Gone Hemp: Tea devotees will appreciate this Colorado coffee blend (review)

Tea and chai lovers will find something special in Happy Heart Hemp Coffee, a handmade Colorado product in which roasted and shelled hemp seeds are blended with organic coffee beans.

Happy Heart Hemp Coffee was developed by Boulder County businesswoman Veronica Carpio. Her professional history branches two sides of the “green” boom: medical cannabis and industrial hemp, the latter of which Carpio is quick to confirm contains no THC and is not mind-altering.

What Carpio and other health-minded hemp lovers endorse about edible seeds are their superfood properties, including being high in protein, fatty acids and insoluble fiber.

Colorado hemp coffee
The Happy Heart Hemp Coffee blend is best brewed in a French press. (Elana Ashanti Jefferson, The Cannabist)

Although there may soon be a shift in federal law, industrial hemp remains illegal to cultivate in the United States. But with the Colorado Department of Agriculture opening registration for hemp farmers on March 1, not only is Carpio anticipating a day when she can cultivate a large outdoor field of industrial hemp to make Happy Heart coffee and other hemp products, she is also organizing other gardeners and farmers interested in growing hemp, and fielding calls from people nationwide who aspire to get more involved in the industry.

Having run a tea shop in addition to two high-country medical dispensaries (now closed), Carpio hatched the idea for Happy Heart Hemp Coffee because she wanted to discreetly get more hemp into her family’s diet. Her coffee, best prepared with a French press, is medium bodied and boasts a nutty, earthy flavor. It soothes like a cup of chamomile tea, and instills a sense of well-being without over-caffeinated jitters.

This is a mellow-tasting brew, and that may be what turns off hard-boiled coffee drinkers who favor a strong, dark cup o’ joe.

While it may not be a match for an all-day sludge sipper, this blend is for health- and heart-minded people who take their warm drinks with a dollop of wellness.


Happy Heart Hemp Coffee

$15 for a half-pound bag at coloradohempcoffee.com and amazon.com.