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Mushrooms for breakfast? You bet. The best mushroom coffee contains powerful health benefits and good-for-you nutrients that help you stay energized and focused throughout the day. beta 40
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That precious little cup of joe—which we’ve come to depend on to kick start our day—can cause us anxious jitters, a post-afternoon crash and even a restless night of sleep. That’s why more and more people are turning to the best mushroom coffee brands to break this vicious cycle and harness the natural properties of our fungi friends. Mushrooms can sharpen our focus, reduce brain fog and keep energy levels sustained throughout the day.
As a dietitian, I often get asked about the health benefits of mushroom coffee. Mushroom brews contain adaptogens, which are plants or mushrooms that have been shown to naturally help your body cope with feelings of stress, anxiety and fatigue, as well as improve overall wellbeing. While not every brand contains actual coffee, you’ll notice certain mushrooms across the board, such as cordyceps and lion’s mane, which are renowned for their energy and focus-boosting properties. Others, such as reishi and shiitake, can help relieve stress.
We tested 10 of the most popular brands and made a list of our best picks to help you choose the right one for you. If you want even more mushroom madness, check out our favorite mushroom-growing kits and mushroom decor.
Four Sigmatic was one of the pioneers of the mushroom coffee trend, and their Think dark roast ground coffee is a classic for a reason. It features organic coffee blended with lion’s mane to improve focus and memory and chaga to boost overall mood and well-being. With over 22,000 ratings, it’s also the top-selling mushroom coffee on Amazon.
As far as taste, you’ll hardly notice anything other than your favorite type of coffee in there. At 150 mg of caffeine, you won’t be giving up your regular cup of joe in exchange for the beneficial adaptogen compounds. While Four Sigmatic’s website says you’ll see improved focus in as little as seven days, I can attest that I felt the effects on the first day. Pro tip: If you prefer grinding fresh beans every morning, we recommend Four Sigmatic’s whole bean mushroom coffee.
Speaking of adaptogens, chill out with our favorite nonalcoholic canned cocktails.
Laird’s Focus Coffee calls for just 1 Tbsp of ground coffee per serving, meaning the more affordable 12-ounce bag will last you a lot longer than other ground mushroom coffee brands on this list that call for three to four times that amount.
This coffee is almost like your typical medium roast—except that it contains coffee cherry (an antioxidant), lion’s mane mushroom and Rhodiola extracts (an adaptogen botanical known to relieve stress) for a powerful and energizing blend of functional ingredients and superfoods. Leading with ground Peruvian coffee beans and 100 mg of caffeine, this blend is a fair trade for your current coffee brand.
Laird’s coffee beans are grown at a high altitude—which the company says is responsible for delivering a complex flavor profile—and I’d have to admit, I agree. I preferred the taste of this blend compared to that of the stronger, darker roasts. Speaking of taste, Laird Superfoods also offers mushroom creamer to combine with their coffee for lasting focus and sustained energy.
Add seven powerful mushrooms to Arabica coffee, and you get La Republica’s Focus & Energy. What’s better? This coffee comes in a convenient, instant blend to take to work or on the go.
But you won’t have to trade in quality for convenience. La Republica sources its coffee from wild-grown fruiting bodies that are dual-extracted to release the maximum beneficial compounds. This blend offers an array of benefits—from increased energy and improved brain function to boosted immunity, digestion and stress support—keeping you healthy while enhancing your daily performance.
I found the taste to be very mellow and smooth, and not at all bitter. Unlike other coffees that left me feeling jittery and scattered, La Republica made me feel focused and calm.
What I like most about the Clevr Coffee SuperLatte is that it contains coffee, a blend of mushrooms and a creamer all in one. Like instant coffee, there’s no prep required—just pour in hot water and enjoy a drink that tastes professionally made in the comfort of your home and for a fraction of the cost.
While other popular mushroom brands contain their latte versions, I found Clevr’s SuperLatte to be superior in taste—comforting but not too sweet. Clevr also sells a variety of other popular flavors including Matcha, award-winning Sleeptime and Chai.
Aside from the taste, the latte provided instant energy I could wake up to every morning. Even better, Clevr’s latte is formulated with brain-boosting, mood-lifting ingredients like ashwagandha, reishi and lion’s mane, as well as heat-resistant probiotics for immune-boosting power. The only downside? It tasted so good, I drank it too fast!
MUD/WTR is neither mud nor water: It’s a mushroom coffee that ditches most of the caffeine for a potent blend that’s as charged with health benefits as it is with energizing properties. Made with masala chai and a range of organic spices, the flavor veers more toward a chai latte than coffee.
Don’t let its low caffeine content fool you. It still contains 2,248 mg of energy and immune-boosting adaptogens from chaga, reishi, lion’s mane and cordyceps—that’s more mushroom content than any other brand on this list.
MUD/WTR offers a subscription service, so you never have to worry about running low. (These are our other favorite coffee subscription boxes.)
Here’s a coffee that works smarter, not harder: Shroomi’s blend contains 100% organic Arabica ground coffee beans and 1000 mg of brain-boosting, organic lion’s mane mushroom in every cup. As a champion for mental health awareness, Shroomi offers a line of mushroom coffees and shots to help deliver an array of health benefits from various mushroom blends.
I tested their dark roast with lion’s mane, which as their website states, is a mushroom that “has been clinically shown to naturally support memory, focus and concentration.” I found the taste comforting and similar to regular coffee, and I was pleasantly surprised to find I felt immediately energized, focused and in a positive mood. While the initial effects may be attributed to the caffeine content, I’m eager to fuel my brain every morning to reap the long-term benefits.
Although it doesn’t contain coffee itself, ReNude’s Chagaccino Superfood Coffee Boost powder features a powerful blend of mushrooms and adaptogens that can be stirred into your favorite coffee or espresso.
A coffee powder is ideal for coffee enthusiasts who don’t want to give up their current blend, or for someone who wants the benefits of mushrooms without the caffeine. The immune-boosting powder features 500 mg of wild foraged chaga mushroom per serving, which contains 40 times more antioxidants than blueberries. Visit ReNude’s website for a full list of chaga benefits, which include stress relief, anti-aging properties and improved gut health.
I blended my chagaccino with my favorite cold brew and some plant-based milk over ice. While I felt the taste was fantastic, the instructions state that you can use less powder for a less sweet result (but who would want to do that?).
Each serving of Velty’s instant coffee contains 4 grams of organic, gut-friendly ingredients to support digestion and, as their site states, “nurture the connection between mind and gut.” Since coffee can cause upset stomachs for some, it’s only natural that this gut-friendly digestif is also caffeine-free.
With ingredients such as Jerusalem artichoke inulin and mesquite powder, this does not taste like your ordinary coffee, but more like a comforting broth. If you can get past the unique flavor profile in exchange for a daily dose of gut-friendly ingredients and immune-boosting mushroom compounds, this may just be the coffee for you (we think you’ll be happy trusting your gut instincts on this one!)
NANCY SNYDER FOR TASTE OF HOME
The number of mushroom coffees on the market today can be overwhelming. The whole point of looking for a mushroom coffee is to help relieve stress, not add to it, right? Here are a few important factors to consider to help make the process a little easier:
Of course, you’ll also want to consider the price when choosing the best mushroom coffee. In doing so, pay close attention to the serving size to determine how far your mushroom brew will get you.
As a culinary dietitian, I have nearly a decade of experience working with restaurants and food manufacturers to provide nutrient analysis and label consulting for thousands of menu items and retail goods. As a result, I am no stranger to scrutinizing an ingredient statement or nutrition facts label to ensure our recommendations are quality products from reputable brands. Plus, as a daily coffee drinker on the hunt for great taste and sustained energy without unwanted jitters or crashes, I can discern the best flavor profiles while also evaluating each mushroom coffee brand’s reported effects.
NANCY SNYDER FOR TASTE OF HOME
In researching and testing the best mushroom coffees, I found a curated coffee alternative blend for just about everyone, considering key factors such as taste, caffeine content and intended use (focus, energy, immunity and gut health—just to name a few).
I purchased a handy Cuisinart Coffeemaker & Hot Water System to test a variety of ground and instant coffee. This allows for brewing drip coffee, and the handy hot water dispenser allows me to conveniently dissolve instant coffee for a quick cup of joe.
I tested the coffee for 11, non-consecutive days (which I reserved for work days where I needed to focus) to evaluate taste and each mushroom coffee’s individual effects.
On day one, I made all 10 coffees. I evaluated and compared each based on their flavor profile without any added creamer, milk or sweeteners (except for ReNude’s Chagaccino, which is a mushroom powder that is to be added to regular coffee with the addition of plant-based milk and ice).
After that, I tested one mushroom coffee per workday and noted the favorable effects on energy (immediate and sustained), mood and ability to focus, as well as any potential unwanted effects from the caffeine content of some of the brands.
From my testing, I could narrow down the eight best mushroom coffee selections. Because no two mushroom coffee drinkers are alike, they have been ranked based on intended uses to find the right shroom brew for you.
Mushrooms have long been touted for their medicinal and nutritional benefits on brain health, immunity support and digestion. Whether we can reap these same benefits from the dried and extracted mushrooms contained in these coffee brands is still being researched. That being said, most mushroom coffees contain less caffeine, which can positively change your daily routine. Caffeine, when consumed in high amounts or during unfavorable times of day, can increase cortisol (a hormone produced during times of stress), cause unwanted jitters or anxious feelings, and prevent you from getting decent sleep. On the other hand, mushroom coffees have been marketed for their ability to provide natural and sustained energy throughout the day without the crash.
While mushroom coffee can be enjoyed by many, those with difficulty digesting mushrooms should avoid it. Those with kidney issues or a history of kidney stones should consult with their doctor first (due to the oxalate content of some mushroom varieties).
Research on each mushroom type is still developing. Here are their reported health benefits:
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