When you think of mushrooms, what comes to mind? Sauteed with a little butter? The Cremini variety that fills the grocery produce divisions? or the Charm Dried varieties are better to eat in nature, with friends?
If you’ve been interested in health and wellness in the past few years, you’ve no doubt seen mushrooms appear more frequently in public conversation and in more creative combinations of foods and drinks. There are teas, nutritional supplements, and chewing gum, but our favorite mushroom-infused health trend is mushroom coffee. Blending the adaptogenic properties of mushrooms with the stimulating effects of caffeine, mushroom coffee claims to provide balanced and immune-boosting energy throughout the day.
What is an adaptogenic mushroom, anyway?
Adaptogenic mushrooms are mushrooms that may help reduce the effects of stress on your body. The exfoliants include many natural substances that help provide a natural effect on the body in times of stress, and include herbs such as ashwagandha, ginseng, turmeric, and maca.
What mushrooms will I find in my coffee?
The most common mutant mushrooms steeped in coffee are cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, Chaga, and reishi, but you may find others included, depending on your branding formula. Each mushroom has its own benefits: Cordyceps is known to provide support for performance and energy, while Lion’s Mane is known for its calming anxiety. Considered the “king of mushrooms,” chaga is believed to have powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and reishi is best known for its ability to combat the effects of stress, its ability to boost the immune system and its ability to relieve fatigue. .
Does mushroom coffee taste like mushrooms?
no! It tastes more like coffee. If you have a sensitive palate, the coffee may taste a bit off the ground (depending on how many milligrams of the good stuff is included) but for the vast majority of people, this will just be a great reminder of a nice cup of joe.
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When it comes to taste, availability and price, Four Sigmatic can’t be beat. Mushroom-infused drinks have taken over specialty grocery stores and chains like Whole Foods alike and helped bring the idea of mushroom coffee into the mainstream zeitgeist.
Four Sigmatic contains multiple combinations of mushrooms and coffee, depending on the desired effect of the drinker. Our favorite is Think: Using Black Mushrooms, which has been shown in clinical trials to improve focus and mental function, the blend is the perfect blend for anyone who needs a burst of caffeine and black mane focus.
Mushrooms per serving: 500 milligrams
Caffeine per serving: Unavailable
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Founded in 2018, Mudwtr blends masala chai, cocoa, and turmeric with California-sourced mushrooms like chaga, reishi, lion’s mane, and cordyceps. The brand described the flavor as the child of a hippie love of chai and hot cocoa, with notes of earth, spicy, and chocolate.
Unlike other mushroom coffees, Mudwtr embraces the spice and caffeine in masala chai to serve as the base for Rice’s blend (the brand also offers a decaffeinated version in the evening with sage tea). To appeal to a variety of coffee drinkers, Mudwtr also offers coconut creamer, MCT, coconut sugar and lúcuma sweetener to adjust the flavor profile according to individual preferences. A 20-calorie cup of Mudwtr provides a noticeable lift and alertness without the typical coffee Accelerates. It embraces flavors other than coffee but ultimately tastes familiar and makes you feel light and heady.
Mushrooms per serving: 562 milligrams
Caffeine per serving: ~ 14 milligrams
The best taste
New to the world of coffee, Wunderground launched in 2022 with a focus on improving specialty coffees with the addition of adaptive mushrooms. Her coffee is purchased directly from smallholder farms, roasted and combined with adaptogenic mushrooms, intended to counterbalance the stress and anxiety caused by caffeine alone.
The brand launched with two coffee blends and one tea – Hocus Pocus and Brainchild coffee and Dream Supply tea. The coffee comes in ground packs or individual instant mix packs, while tea comes exclusively in the instant mix pack.
Wunderground has a richness and smoothness of taste that is hard to find outside of a coffee shop. Like the brand’s energy-enhanced concoction, Brainchild relies on Lion’s Mane and Cordyceps mushrooms as well as premium Arabica coffee to produce a balanced and invigorating drink. For the coffee nerds out there, Wunderground says that medium roasts feature tasting notes of milk chocolate, graham crackers and apricots, and that the taste is buttery with a pleasant acidity.
Mushrooms per serving: 200 mg of each mushroom
Caffeine per serving: ~80 milligrams
Best Low Caffeine Content
If you haven’t heard of Paul Stamets, he is considered the father of the medicinal mushroom movement. (We suggest watching Fantastic Fungi to get his story a little better.) Stamets has an amazing depth of knowledge when it comes to mushrooms, and his Host Defense brand makes a line of mushroom-based supplements, coffee, and tea. More for optimum health and function promotion.
We brought MycoBrew instant coffee packets with us on a camping trip recently, and were impressed with the bold, bright flavor that came from the smaller packets. With half the amount of caffeine in a traditional cup, and the second largest amount of mushrooms per serving on this list, this coffee is perfect for anyone looking to kick their dependence on drinks while still enjoying a cup each morning. It gave us just the right amount of pep in our step for a week immersed in nature, but if you need an extra boost, you might want to try another type of coffee on this list.
Mushrooms per serving: 1400 milligrams
Caffeine per serving: 39 milligrams
Best DIY
There will be times and trips when it does not make sense to pack and carry with you your favorite coffee beans or ground coffee, and in these cases, instead of missing out on the benefits of mushrooms, we suggest you make mushrooms yourself- brewed coffee.
Super Mush makes daily oral sprays aimed at boosting immune health, energy and well-being. One day when we’re short on time and have to grab a coffee from the café down the street, we slip one of the brand’s spray bottles into our bag and make their own concoction on the go. It only takes three sprinkles to get the benefits of mushrooms wherever you are. Our favorite spray is the immune defense formula thanks to this honey and cinnamon recipe. It adds just the right amount of flavor (and adaptogenic support) to a chilled Americano.
Mushrooms per serving: 523 milligrams
Caffeine per serving: Unavailable
Best Small Brand
Much like Host Defense, the Rasa Dirty Mix is a blend of high mushroom content and low caffeine – the brand made this mix with a focus on the adaptogenic and healing properties of shroom, not making you jittery all day.
Rasa’s 12-herb blend includes roasted dandelion, burdock, and dandelion root; Eleuthero, shatavari, he shou wu, codonopsis, chaga mycelium, ashwagandha, rhodiola, ceylon cinnamon and reishi extract are all organic. Paired with an adaptogen blend, Fair Trade coffee is sourced only from female-owned farms; This drink focuses on wellness on an individual level, as well as on the community in which it contributes.
Adaptogens per serving: 1550 milligrams
Caffeine per serving: 35 milligrams
Best sports brand
You’ve probably heard of Laird Hamilton before – he’s just one of the best surfers on the planet, and he’s made a name for himself in the health and wellness field through his dedication to fitness, as well as his Laird Superfood brand.
Hamilton’s Dark Roasted Ground Mushroom Coffee is made from Peruvian beans grown at over 4,000 feet, and slowly roasted in small batches to preserve flavor and quality. The mushroom blend in coffee contains extracts from three stars of the world of jobs: Chaga, Lion’s Mane, and Cordyceps.
Laird Superfood Organic Mushrooms are grown in the United States on organic white milo (sorghum), which is naturally gluten-free. The brand uses extracts, rather than mushroom powder, which allows for a higher amount of beta-di-glucan (a soluble fiber from mushroom bodies that may reduce the risk of heart disease). Low acidity beans and a wellness-focused mushroom blend come together in a bold, smooth drink that promises to wake up your mind as well as your body.
Laird Superfood does not disclose the amount of extracts in each serving, or the entire container, so those looking for accurate dosages or brand transparency may want to look elsewhere.
Mushrooms per serving: Unavailable
Caffeine per serving: Unavailable
Best budget choice
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Mushroom coffees are priced quite similarly to each other – the main factor that distinguishes them is the price per serving, which requires a bit of arithmetic to get to. Many of the companies on this list offer a price per submission note on their websites, but some don’t, so we’ve done the math for you.
The #1 spot for affordability is California Farms Cold Mushroom Blend, which is not only cheaper than all the other coffees on this list but is also pre-brewed, so it’s even more appealing to those of us who don’t have time to try making coffee for 30 minutes. minutes every morning. This unsweetened elixir is made with 100% cold-pressed Arabica beans and is fortified with organic extracts of Cordyceps and Lion’s Mane mushrooms. It tastes smooth on its own, but I like to add a bit of unsweetened almond milk to my muesli for a bit more creaminess.
Although this is the most expensive mushroom coffee, Califia doesn’t disclose the amount of extracts in each serving, or the entire container, so those looking for accurate dosages or brand transparency may want to look elsewhere.
Mushrooms per serving: Unavailable
Caffeine per serving: 150 milligrams