How to brew mushroom coffee at home

Having a cup of coffee in the morning is a great way to kickstart your day, but caffeine is not everyone’s best friend. It can affect everyone differently and can trigger adverse side effects in some people, such as restlessness, anxiety, sleeplessness, and more. Some people who are tired of jitters, gastrointestinal upset, and over-dependency are now trading in their morning cup of coffee with mushroom coffee. It is a new drink that coffee drinkers claim great health benefits, including improved immunity, reduced blood cholesterol level, and all-day energy. This healthy beverage gives you a great mental kickstart without feeling jittery. If you are a coffee enthusiast and want to jump onto the mushroom coffee bandwagon, you have come to the right page. Here you will learn what mushroom coffee is, its benefits, and mushroom coffee recipe you will want to whip up promptly. 

What is mushroom coffee?

As the name suggests, Mushroom coffee is a delicate mix of ground coffee and medicinal mushroom extract. This combination might sound weird, but the resulting drink tastes pretty similar to regular coffee and packs numerous nutritional and health benefits. It has become a popular coffee drink with a healthy twist. This medicinal beverage is made from a variety of medicinal mushroom extracts, including reishi, cordyceps, chaga, turkey’s tail, and lion’s mane. You may not find any culinary mushrooms in it like buttons or shiitake that you are familiar with. The flavor profile of this trending coffee brew is not so different from your regular cup of Joe. 

The origin of mushroom coffee

Adaptogens, a fancy name for mushrooms, have long been used medicinally in China for their nutritional and health benefits. So the idea of adding them to your diet is not new; it dates back to World War II when coffee was rationed, and Scandinavian people started making mushroom tea as a coffee substitute using chaga mushrooms. Mushroom tea became very popular and made its way to coffee in recent years. Unlike mushroom tea, modern-day mushroom coffee is made with mushroom extract and coffee grounds. When this mushroom extract is mixed with coffee, it creates a healthier coffee drink that is rich in antioxidants. 

What does it taste like?

You may love the taste of mushrooms you eat at your dinner table, but the thought of drinking mushroom coffee doesn’t sound that appealing. Don’t fret- this trendiest coffee is made with fungi, but it doesn’t give you the mushroomy taste you might expect. It typically tastes like regular coffee with a subtle hint of earthiness when you take its first sip. At first, it smells a little mushroomy, and its flavor is earthy. As it cooled a bit, it became more palatable but did not overtake the flavor of coffee beans. However, some coffee drinkers claim that it has a nutty flavor. 

The taste of this popular medicinal beverage depends on the type of mushrooms and coffee beans used to make it. Four Sigmatic, a most popular Finish mushroom coffee company, offers a wide variety of high-quality mushroom products to make mushroom beverages. These mushroom blends offer a unique taste and help you make energy-boosting mushroom coffee. Typically, their mushroom coffee blends are used to make the tasty and healthier mushroom beverage.

What Type of Mushrooms can be used?

Adaptogenic mushrooms are used to make this healthy coffee drink. There are around 150,000 known species of mushrooms on earth, but only 2300 species belong to adaptogenic mushrooms. There are several types of adaptogenic mushrooms used to make this trendiest drink. The most popular type of mushroom are:

• Lion’s mane
• Chaga
• Reishi
• Cordyceps

Medicinal mushrooms’ fruiting bodies are picked, dried, and ground into a fine powder which is then added to roasted ground coffee beans, instant coffee, or pods. 

Mushroom coffee Recipe

This adaptogenic drink combines the health benefits of medicinal mushrooms and the flavor profile of coffee beans. For this recipe, consumable adaptogenic fungi are dried, grounded, and mixed with regular coffee. Its earthy tang complements your favorite roasted coffee beans, giving it a slightly earthy and nutty flavor. You can make this nutrient-filled substitute for regular coffee in any coffee maker like a French press, mocha pot, or Aeropress. Even you can use the cold brew technique and reusable coffee pods to make this hot coffee drink. 

You can make mushroom powder at home using dried medicinal mushrooms and then grind them into fine powder. If you have no time to make it at home, use pre-ground mushroom extract. There are a lot of companies that sell pre-packaged medicinal mushroom blends, including Four Sigmatic, Drink Renude, FreshCap Organics, and more. These blends usually come in extract or powder form. Add this powder or extract to the ground coffee beans and prepare your coffee as you normally would. You can add milk, cream, and sugar to your drink or even make a delicious latte.

How to make mushroom coffee with the French press

As mentioned above, you can use any drip coffee maker to make it at home. If you use the French press, it will extract the most benefits from the medicinal mushroom. Moreover, it helps you extract the most flavor from your coffee beans. Here’s what you will need: 

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of ground coffee
• 1 teaspoon of Lion’s Mane mushroom powder or extract
• Sugar to taste

Instructions:

• Take 80z water in a kettle and bring it to a boil.
• Add roasted ground coffee beans and mushroom powder in a French press.
• Now pour the boiling water into it and stir.
• Stir the brew and press the plunger.
• Let the brew sit for 4 minutes, and then pour it into your cup.
• Sweeten it to taste.
• Enjoy!

Health Benefits of Mushroom Coffee 

Drinking this beverage gives you the benefits of coffee and consumable adaptogenic fungi. It may be lauded as a healthy substitute for a standard cup of coffee, but its benefits have not been scientifically proven. Here are a few of the supposed health benefits of mushroom coffee.

Boost brain health

Medicinal mushrooms like Lion’s mane are used to help brain function, including the growth of neurons, and improve neurotransmitter functioning. The increase in neurotransmitters plays an important role in preventing Alzheimer’s disease. 

Manage stress

Mushrooms that are used in this recipe are adaptogens that support adrenal glands and help reduce stress. You get a better sleep when the adrenal glands are bolstered.

Slows aging

Pack with antioxidants, mushroom helps to protect your body from cell damage and prevent some type of diseases like cardiac diseases, cancer, and more. It may also reduce the sign of aging.

Give a boost to the Immune system

One of the medicinal mushrooms, chaga, has been known to give a boost to your immune system by helping antibody growth. Moreover, it also stimulates white blood cells that support your immune system.

Good for digestion

Mushrooms used in mushroom coffee contain bacteria that are good for digestion. Furthermore, it is less acidic in nature, so you can enjoy your morning coffee without having acid reflux.

FAQ

How much caffeine is in it?

According to the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), a regular cup of coffee (8 ounces) has 95mg of caffeine, and 8 ounces of mushroom coffee has 50 milligrams of caffeine which is similar to green tea and half the amount of caffeine than found in a standard cup of coffee.

Does mushroom coffee have the same caffeine content as regular coffee?

Mushroom coffee tends to be more caffeinated than regular coffee due to the fewer ground beans used to make this drink. Less caffeine content makes it easier to drink for those who have not built caffeine tolerance. However, this coffee beverage has more caffeine content than decaffeinated coffee. Powdered mushroom extracts that are added to coffee dilute the level of caffeine. Consequently, it can lessen the effects of caffeine on your body, such as overstimulation, etc. If you are weaning off your caffeine intake, this beverage can be very useful for you.

Is it safe to consume it?

Mushrooms come with potential risks, and some mushrooms may interact with some drugs. Reishi mushrooms can be the reason for blood-thinning, especially when you consume them while taking blood-thinning medication. Mushrooms are also responsible for certain digestive issues. So it’s best to consult your doctor before consuming it, especially if you are a pregger, a nursing mom, or taking prescription medication. However, it is safe to use when consumed in moderation. As this recipe calls mushroom extract powder, a few grams of mushroom extract powder is safe to use.

 Is it keto-friendly?

Mushroom coffee is a blend of ground coffee and mushroom extract that make your morning healthier. Mushroom blends have a few grams of carbs, making them a great choice to fit into a keto coffee. Keto-friendly mushroom coffee blend offers a lot of health benefits, including a healthy immune system and support focus.

How much mushroom coffee can I drink in a day?

The amount of caffeine in mushroom coffee is only half of what you’d get from your regular cup of coffee. The FDA has cited that the safe level of daily caffeine consumption is about 400 mg. That means consuming 3 cups of mushroom coffee per day is safe. However, it depends on the mushroom blend and the brand you use to make this beverage. 

Is mushroom coffee healthier than your regular coffee?

The coffee to mushroom extract ratio used in this beverage is 1:1, which means you will get half of the buzz you might find in your regular cup of coffee. So drinking it can be healthier than your standard cup of Joe as it cuts down your daily caffeine consumption to half and saves you from the adverse effects of caffeine to an extent. 

Bottom Line:

Mushroom coffee is a new hot coffee drink that is nothing fancy but a blend of mushroom extract and roasted coffee beans. However, you can’t use any kind of mushroom to make this beverage. Instead, it is prepared with special medical mushrooms that are dried and extracted before mixing with coffee. 

If you can’t handle too much caffeine but still love coffee, this might be a great caffeinated drink for you since it is lower in caffeine than regular coffee. Moreover, people claim that its taste is pretty similar to standard coffee.

 This unusual beverage is often touted as a healthy coffee drink, but it is important to remember that it is prepared with mushroom extract instead of whole mushrooms. According to experts, consume the whole form of mushroom to reap the benefits of mushroom. However, if you are a coffee enthusiast and new coffee recipes always excite you, don’t forget to give it a try and take your coffee game to the next level. Have you ever tried this unusual coffee drink? If yes, share your experience with us in the comment box! 

Happy caffeinating!