Tough Question: Will There Be Coffee in Heaven?

Trust in God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.-1 Timothy 6:17

I am a coffee coinsure. I absolutely love to drink coffee. I could drink coffee morning, noon and night if it didn’t interfere with my sleep schedule. I was sitting in Starbucks the other day and my mind began to wander to Heaven and as I smelled the coffee brewing and listened to conversations going on around me I began to wonder whether or not there will be coffee in Heaven. Some may say, “I sure hope there’ll be coffee in heaven.” But it’s a statement that few would attempt to defend biblically.

But consider the facts. God made coffee. Coffee grown on Earth, which God made for mankind, put under our management, and filled with resources for our use. When God evaluated his creation, he deemed coffee trees, along with all else, to be “very good”. Many people throughout history have enjoyed coffee-even in a fallen world where neither coffee nor our tast buds are at their best.
God tells us that he “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17). Does “everything” include coffee? Paul also says, “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-5). Again, does “everything” include coffee?

Given these biblical perspectives-and realizing that caffeine addiction or anything else that’s unhealthy simply won’t exist on the New Earth-can you think of any persuasive reason why coffee trees and coffee drinking wouldn’t be part of the resurrected Earth?

Will the New Earth have fewer resources for human enjoyment than Eden did or than the world under the Curse offers? If you’re tempted to say, “But in Heaven our minds will be on spiritual things not coffee”, your Christoplatonism detector should go off. It’s fine if you don’t like coffee, but to suggest that coffee is inherently unspirtual is…well, heresy. It directly contradicts the Scriptures just cited. God made the physical and spiritual realms not to oppose each other but to be united in bringing glory to him.

On the New Earth, we will “drink… from the spring of the water of life” (Revelation 21:6). God will prepare for us “a banquet of aged wine… the finest of wines” (Isaiah 25:6). Not only will we drink water and wine, we’ll eat from fruit trees (Revelation 22:2), and there’s every reason to believe we’ll drink juice made from the twelve fruits from the tree of life. So, along with drinking water, wine, and fruit juice, is there any reason to suppose we wouldn’t drink coffee or tea? Can you imagine drinking coffee or tea with Jesus on the New Earth? If you can’t, why not?

In conclusion, if for health reasons you shouldn’t drink coffee now, then don’t. But aside from personal preference, the only compelling reason for not having coffee in Heaven would be if coffee were sinful or harmful. But it won’t be. Therefore, drink coffee to the glory of God now and know that one day you will be able to share a cup of joe with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.