Mushroom coffee was a strange and often mentioned part of the coffee world I ignored for a long time. Who wants mushrooms ruining their coffee or so I thought. After trying out one of these coffees my opinion really changed on these!
Mushroom coffee is a blend of ground coffee and medicinal mushrooms with the goal of improved health or mental ability. These coffee though relatively new rely on many years of medicinal mushroom practices to ensure quality and safe products.
What is Mushroom coffee? It’s simply coffee and mushrooms! The most common is Lion’s Mane, Chaga or Maitake. Each of these mushroom have been long used in medicinal medicine. The alleged health benefits may be improved focus, creativity, aiding sleep or improving health conditions like diabetes.
I tired some Four Sigmatic Mushroom coffee for a week and really enjoyed it. While I cant speak to the medical benefits I really enjoyed this coffee overall. It was really surprising how it tasted!
What mushrooms are used in mushroom coffee?
There are several varieties I have encountered online but most seem to use Lion’s mane, Chaga or Cordyceps mushrooms. These varieties are supposed to help you concentrate better, enhance cognitive ability, are high in antioxidants, help manage diabetes among other purported benefits.
Chaga mushrooms grow in the northern hemisphere and have purported cancer fighting abilities, liver protecting abilities and immunostimulating effects according to the Memorial Sloan Kettering website.
Agreement on these properties, their safety and recommended doses are non established at this time. One clear warning repeatedly noted is do not use these mushrooms if you are taking blood thinners as they can have interactions!
So what does it taste like?
From my literature research mushrooms add body and an earthiness to the coffee. Also the acidity is reduced and becomes smoother. I tried the Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee in the instant packages. I did find the claims of being smoother and lower acid generally true. I did notice more of an earthiness to the coffee as well which was pleasant and different but not in a bad funky way.
As to the purported mental boost that is more unclear overall. I mean who doesn’t want to become Steve Jobs/Bill Gates/Einstein in one awesome package in as little as one cup of beans and fungus! Will these fancy mushrooms do that, I’m not sure. I did find myself oddly focused one day after having a cup so perhaps there is something to the claims of better mental clarity.
Are the health benefits researched?
Reading a couple of research papers on various claims regarding Lion’s mane mushrooms, I would say it’s hard to make the conclusion that it is a guarantee. There have been studies on these mushrooms but it’s hard to compare a study to real life. There are definitely many studies that do show the health and wellness properties of mushrooms. I think that is pretty well established at this point. Few have been in the context of mushroom coffee, most probably in mushroom tea, so a direct comparison is hard.
Most of these studies are talking about mice or rats specifically feed very chemically pure and refined compounds from these mushrooms. I would bet any compound gets absorbed into the body much better if its research grade purity. As well animals can be good substitutes for humans in the right situations but mice and rat’s brains are not quite as sophisticated as humans.
Another purported side benefit of these coffees seem to be lower in caffeine then just straight coffee. This is alleged from the mushroom taking up some of the volume. Based on my research it seems these are extracts added to the coffee not mushrooms steeping in the grounds. One site did mention that these coffees are half coffee and half mushroom powder. That would make the most sense as you are basically diluting the coffee by 50% and adding back in another material to make up the extra body and flavor. Again since I tried the instant version of Four Sigmatic I’m not sure I can really judge this claim yet.
Are the mushrooms roasted with the coffee or added?
One other point I will mention that I haven’t found a good answer to is if the mushrooms are roasted like the coffee or just merely dried and ground. Based on one resource I found it would appear most likely they are dried and then ground into powder.
To my prior point , research may show positive benefits with these compounds in the mushrooms but they are generally extracting them and creating very pure versions to specific concentrations. I doubt making mushroom powders is that exact as every batch probably varies in these compounds naturally. Ever get a really weak Habanero from the store and a burning hot Jalapeno that makes you run around the room like your mouth is on fire? Hummmm habanero coffee….
Final thought on these coffees-where is all the decaf versions people!! Do us decaf drinkers always need to be an afterthought? Note I did find you can buy mushroom powder to add to your coffee but that adds another step to the process but does let you customize it a bit more then buying a pre-made version. I will definitely be trying this more in the future. Maybe after a few cups of this stuff, I won’t forget button my pants so much!
Related questions:
Does mushroom coffee have coffee in it?
Yes mushroom coffee has actual coffee in it. Mushroom coffee is a blend of coffee and mushrooms to add the health benefits (no medical claims implied) of mushrooms to coffee and in some peoples opinions it smooths the coffee out. Some of the alleged benefits for Lion’s Mane mushroom coffee is improve concentration, creative focus and improve energy among other claimed benefits. While I can’t back up those claims with research, drinking it for a week did seem to help me focus more then once in my work. Also it should be noted that mushroom coffee is alleged to contain less caffeine then regular coffee!
Does mushroom coffee taste like coffee or mushrooms?
Honestly I found it to be subtle and barely noticeable. Really it seemed smoother and perhaps had a more dense mouth feel with a heartier flavor. Though I found it to not really be anything out the ordinary. If you are worried it’s going to taste funny, you won’t notice any difference at all. Perhaps just a little more focus and creative!
Who shouldn’t drink mushroom coffee?
If you are taking any medication you should not consume medicinal mushrooms. Generally anyone looking to add medicinal mushrooms to their diet should only do so with the help and guidance of a doctor. As these mushrooms are generally not well researched and can have interactions with medicines and health conditions you should always consult a doctor first.