Coffee is an essential part of the day to a lot of people, the extra caffeine considered absolutely necessary. Sure, some prefer tea or energy drinks to start their day, but coffee is the most popular option.
It’s no wonder why, since there are countless varieties of coffee available to choose from. Whether you want it black or super sweetened, with dairy creamer or almond milk, decaf or with a shot of espresso— the combinations are endless.
We offer energy supplements currently, but we don’t sell coffee. Or at least we didn’t, until now! Keep reading to find out what mushroom coffee is, and why people have been loving it lately. It’ll be available for purchase on our website starting in September.
How is Mushroom Coffee Made?
First thing’s first— what is mushroom coffee? Currently, it’s taking the internet by storm as a healthier alternative to typical coffee, but the concept has been around for far longer than that!
Mushrooms have a rich history of being used for health and medicine, but people used them as a substitute for coffee specifically as far back as World War II. In Finland, they made use of mushrooms when they didn’t have coffee beans.
Lately, mushroom coffee has been growing in popularity, for good reason! It’s made by blending mushrooms and coffee beans together to brew, and the resulting drink has many helpful health benefits as well as a pleasant nutty taste. Mushroom coffee’s flavor isn’t too different from what you might find at your local coffee shop!
When you hear of mushrooms being put in a drink, you may think of the typical ones we eat in our food, like shiitake and portobello. In actuality, mushroom coffee usually involves the extracts of medicinal ones: chaga, lion’s mane, reishi, turkey’s tail, and cordyceps, to name a few.
When hearing the name, you may think that people are just adding whole mushrooms to their coffee. Thankfully, that’s not what’s happening. In order to make mushroom coffee, one must first extract the mushrooms’ fruiting bodies which are then turned into an additive-free powder.
After that, the mushrooms will be dehydrated and ground down into powder themselves. This is then mixed in with ground coffee beans, typically in a 1:1 ratio. This process pulls out the beneficial components and leaves out what you won’t want in your coffee.
You can purchase many mushroom coffee products, such as ground coffee blends, instant coffee packets, coffee pods, and even pre-made mushroom lattes!
You could try adding a mushroom coffee packet to your typical beverage of choice to see if you like it! Many people who enjoy mushroom coffee blends will also add other ingredients for flavor or additional health benefits. Some common ones are cinnamon, cacao, turmeric, sea salt, and MCT oil.
Mushroom coffee is lower in caffeine than regular coffee, which makes it very appealing to people who have to limit their caffeine intake such as people who are pregnant, lactating, or have heart problems.
All of these groups— and more —risk negative side effects from high levels of caffeine consumption. Mushroom coffee still contains caffeine, of course, but the mushrooms themselves don’t.
Since there’s an equal amount of mushroom powder as ground coffee beans, a cup of mushroom coffee will have significantly less caffeine, about half as much on average, though this of course can vary depending on the brand.
A reduced caffeine intake is just one of many reasons why people are going nuts for mushroom coffee online right now, though. There are plenty of reasons why mushroom coffee could be a healthier choice than your regular coffee order.
Health Benefits
As mentioned above, mushrooms have been used as part of natural remedies for centuries, particularly in Chinese medicine.
Plenty of studies have been done more recently on the health benefits of “adaptogens,” the compounds extracted from these mushrooms. More research should certainly be conducted, but scientific findings thus far make a compelling case in favor of the health benefits of mushroom coffee.
Different types of mushrooms have been found to produce different health benefits. Substrates of turkey’s tail have been found to enhance the immune system responses, likely due to the proteins and glucans the mushroom contains.
Turkey’s tail has also exhibited anti-inflammatory properties, and Chaga mushrooms have been found to help people fight off ulcers. Mushroom coffee could even help ease sore muscles.
When we drink a cup of coffee, it’s typically because we have to be on the go. Maybe mushroom coffee could give you an extra pick-me-up that you don’t even know you’ve been missing.
On the subject of Chaga mushrooms, they’ve also shown the ability to suppress allergic reactions to certain foods, which is very interesting.
Several different types of medicinal mushrooms have the potential to help cancer patients through supportive therapies, such as helping reduce nausea and vomiting that may come as a side effect of their condition or their treatment.
Extracts of reishi specifically have the potential to lower blood cholesterol levels, which will in turn reduce risk of heart disease. That’s not the only potential heart health benefit of mushroom coffee, though— cordyceps can help with arrhythmia.
Researchers believe that the presence of antioxidants and amino acids like ergothioneine in mushrooms are the reason for the improvements to heart health and protection against other chronic diseases.
Just like your heart, your brain may benefit from mushroom coffee, too! Concentration and memory may improve due to compounds within certain medicinal mushrooms. Lion’s mane in particular may cause increased production of the protein that helps your body develop neurons.
One of the main reasons why people are loving mushroom coffee lately is the fact that it can reduce stress. This is due to the previously mentioned adaptogens, and certain mushrooms’ ability to up levels of BDNF, or brain derived neurotrophic factor.
This neurotransmitter modulator, found in lion’s mane, was also found in one particular study to help with symptoms of anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders.
There are certainly a lot of pros to mushroom coffee, but what about the cons?
Potential Side Effects
As with any medicinal substance or natural remedy, there’s always the potential for your body to have a negative reaction.
The benefits of mushroom coffee could very well outweigh the risks for you, but it’s very important to conduct research into both before trying something new!
For example, those who are used to a lot of caffeine and are looking to reduce their intake may find a perfect solution in mushroom coffee. On the other hand, people who have sensitivities to caffeine may still find mushroom coffee to contain too much.
Some side effects related to caffeine consumption that you may experience with mushroom coffee, as with any caffeinated beverage, can include headaches, shakiness, dizziness, an increased heart rate, and caffeine dependence, among other things.
Unrelated to caffeine, it’s also important to be aware of potential side effects that the mushrooms can cause. Those with kidney issues or who have trouble digesting grain may run into problems with mushroom coffee.
Fungi can definitely be hard on the stomach, and certain types of mushrooms can even increase risk of kidney stones.
So, if you have existing digestive issues we definitely recommend consulting your primary care physician to discuss whether trying it would be a good idea for you.
In addition, if you’re allergic to mushrooms you should probably steer clear of this hip new coffee trend, too. These types of allergies are fairly uncommon, but symptoms can include hives, stomach pain, nausea, etc., so definitely be on the lookout.
Another important thing to note as a potential downside of mushroom coffee is that there hasn’t been an enormous amount of research conducted on the subject yet. Most existing studies have been performed on animals or in test tubes.
However, more studies are being conducted every day, especially as mushroom coffee grows in popularity. Plenty people have tried it and since decided that it’s a better fit for them than regular coffee, and who knows? Maybe you’ll fall in love with mushroom coffee, too.
Our Product
If you’re ready to jump on the mushroom coffee train after reading this, then we have some good news for you! Our very own Mushroom Coffee blend will be launching in September, and we’re super excited for it to hit the shelves.
Our personal recipe will contain extract from lion’s mane, chaga, and cordyceps mushrooms— the benefits of which we’ve established at length above. However, we also included a host of other ingredients in this blend just for you!
Some of the other ingredients we’ve included in our mushroom coffee— besides mushroom powder and coffee grounds, of course —each have their own health benefits.
Ashwagandha, a plant that grows in the Middle East, India, and Africa, can help relieve stress, reduce blood sugar, improve muscle strength, increase fertility, and more! Many of its helpful traits actually overlap with those of medicinal mushrooms.
Ginseng, another natural ingredient we added to our product, is in the same boat— it helps to strengthen the immune system. This plant is very common in both medicinal practices and the cuisine in several different parts of Asia, including China and Korea.
Despite the delicious taste, however, our blend contains no fat, no calories, no carbs, and only 60mg of caffeine. We will always prioritize our customers’ health, but there’s no reason why your mushroom coffee can’t taste good on top of all the other benefits!
We chose Mexican Spray Dried Coffee for our coffee grounds, and added natural caramel flavors as well as Stevia sweetener to ensure our customers would love the flavor of their mushroom coffee, too.
Whether you’re on the fence about mushroom coffee or have been dying to try it since you first heard about the trend, we hope after reading this that you’re looking forward to the release of our very own Mushroom Coffee Blend in the very near future. With all the ways it could contribute to your health, why not try it out?
Mushroom coffee may be about to become your new favorite caffeinated beverage, but you won’t know unless you take a sip for yourself!
