Have you ever drank a cup of coffee and thought, “Hey, what this really needs is a bunch of mushrooms”?
Probably not.
But that hasn’t stopped Finnish researchers from making mushroom coffee. Nutrition blogs are already calling it a potential superfood for 2017. Lifestyle personality Tim Ferriss has also been heavily promoting mushroom coffee in recent weeks.
The idea behind mushroom coffee is simple: mushrooms are good for you, but it’s hard to add sufficient mushrooms to your diet to enjoy those health benefits. A Finnish beverage company has created a mushroom extract that can be added to coffee so you enjoy your favorite mug of coffee with additional health benefits.
The Finnish company is known as Four Sigmatic. This isn’t the first time they’ve branched into the world of mushroom-based beverages. Today, they sell a range of coffees, elixirs, blends, and hot cocoa mixes containing mushrooms.
What’s in Mushroom Coffee?
Four Sigmatic’s new mushroom coffee is made from mushroom extract powders.
The company isolates and spray dries different types of mushrooms to isolate their key constituents. The end result is an extract that contains all of the health benefits of mushrooms in a highly-concentrated form.
After the powder is tested for safety, purity, and quality, it’s combined with organic instant coffee grounds. You add the mix to hot water, then enjoy a cup of coffee as you normally would.
Why Add Mushrooms to Coffee?
It’s natural to wonder: why would you add mushrooms to coffee instead of, say, your scrambled eggs?
Four Sigmatic claims that mushrooms and coffee make particularly good partners. Coffee enhances the health benefits of the mushrooms, and mushrooms enhance the health benefits of the coffee.
As an example, the maitake mushroom is said to regulate blood sugar levels, while another mushroom called the chaga reduces coffee’s natural acidity. You enjoy the health benefits of coffee without the harshness of it affecting your stomach.
Both of those mushrooms are found in the Four Sigmatic’s green coffee mix.
Is There Scientific Evidence Behind the Health Benefits of Mushrooms?
Health.com dived into whether or not the Four Sigmatic green coffee mushroom blend is really as healthy as the company claims.
The Health contributing nutrition editor claimed that “There is some research to show that the maitake mushroom may lower blood glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes”. The editor went on to explain that chaga mushrooms have been used for centuries to fight off bacteria and viruses.
The blood pressure effects of mushrooms are so potent, in fact, that you should avoid taking maitake mushrooms while taking medications that control diabetes or blood pressure levels.
Overall, maitake and chaga mushroom research is lacking in humans. There isn’t overwhelming scientific evidence that it works as advertised to provide the health benefits listed above.
Other mushrooms, however, like white buttons and Portobello mushrooms commonly used in dishes, have a proven ability to flood your body with antioxidants and vitamin D while containing only 15 to 20 calories per cup.
Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffees
Four Sigmatic sells a variety of mushroom coffees that promise various health benefits. Overall, the coffees promise to provide the benefits of coffee without downsides like anxiety, jitters, and acidity.
Here are the Four Sigmatic mushroom coffees and beverage powders currently available:
- Mushroom Coffee with Cordyceps: $14.99 (10 sachets)
- Chaga Elixir: $37.99 (20 sachets)
- Mushroom Hot Cacao with Reishi: $19.99 (10 sachets)
- 10 Mushroom Blend: $30
What’s in the Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee Mix?
The Four Sigmatic Mushroom coffee mix, priced at $15 for 10 sachets, is the company’s most popular mushroom coffee product.
The formula contains 2000mg of 100% Arabica coffee per serving along with 350mg of “dual-extracted wild-crafted Siberian chaga mushroom” and 150mg of “dual-extracted Cordyceps mushroom”.
These are the only three listed ingredients in the coffee blend. There’s 0 calories in each serving. The formula is also vegan-friendly, paleo, sugar free, and non-GMO.
To use the coffee, add one packet to a mug of hot water. Or, add it to your favorite smoothie. You’ll enjoy 500mg of mushroom extract per serving along with the burst of energy you always get with coffee.
What Do Customers Have to Say About Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee?
Four Sigmatic sells its mushroom coffee mix on Amazon, where thousands of customers have reviewed the formula. The two main Four Sigmatic mushroom coffee mixes (Cordyceps & Chaga and the Lion’s Mane & Chaga blends) both have an average rating of 3.9 stars out of 5 with a total of 500+ reviews.
Here are some of the pros and cons we’ve learned from those reviews:
Pros
- Tasty
- Reduces the acidity of coffee and makes it easier on your stomach (many reviewers praised the coffee for reducing symptoms of acid reflux)
- Easy to blend with different beverages and recipes, and mixes well with normal coffee additives like dairy and sweeteners
- “I feel there is an undeniable link between mental capability on it vs. without it” explains one reviewer
Cons
- Too expensive
- Paying $1.50 per serving for instant coffee is a little ridiculous
- The marketing makes it seem like it’s made mostly of mushrooms, but it’s approximately 80% coffee with 20% mushrooms
- Some customers reported no noticeable benefits over an ordinary instant coffee blend
Overall, the coffee is an instant coffee mix blended with mushroom extract. Some people claim it cures their ADHD and reduces symptoms of acid reflux, while others claim it’s just an expensive type of instant coffee fueled by marketing machines like the Tim Ferriss brand.
Should You Buy Mushroom Coffee?
Mushroom coffee, like the instant coffee blends sold by Four Sigmatic online, are popular health supplements that have become increasingly popular in 2017, as they’ve been promoted by lifestyle personalities like Tim Ferriss.
The verdict is still out on whether or not mushroom extract – particularly chaga mushrooms – have a powerful effect on humans. Insufficient human research has been performed thus far, so it’s hard to say for certain if achieve their targeted health benefits.
Nevertheless, it’s no secret that mushrooms are a healthy addition to most diets. If you’re looking for an easy way to add mushrooms to your diet, and you drink coffee every day anyway, then the Four Sigmatic mushroom coffee blends may be the right supplements for you – even if they’re very expensive compared to other instant coffees on the market.
