What is mushroom coffee?
Mushroom coffee is a blend of coffee and medicinal mushroom extracts. We use lion’s mane and cordyceps mushrooms in our Flow and Mojo mushroom coffee blends respectively, along with other adaptogens with synergistic properties.
Medicinal mushroom extracts are adaptogens – they help your body and mind adapt to physical, mental and emotional stressors. Blending them together with a fine microground coffee creates an earthy, delicious cup of coffee with additional health benefits. The microground coffee in our blends contains 6% freshly ground coffee and the rest is spray-dried instant coffee powder and is tested for heavy metals, toxins and mould.
It all sounds very simple, but the processes used to get benefits from medicinal mushrooms aren’t as simple as dropping a few of them into your favourite brew and waiting for the magic to happen. Mushrooms have a different cellular structure to plants, plants are made from cellulose which is easily digested to get the nutritional benefits, whereas mushrooms have a chitin cell wall which our bodies cannot break down so easily. To get the benefits from medicinal mushrooms, the beneficial compounds need to be extracted. We use an organic 8:1 dual-extract of lion’s mane with 25.0%* beta-glucans and a pure organic 8:1 dual-extract of Cordyceps with 0.535%* cordycepin & 27.4%* beta-glucans from fruiting bodies only. It’s important to ensure we have a high-amount of the beneficial active compounds which are beta glucans, hericenones, hericerins, erinacines and cordycepin in lion’s mane and cordyceps.
*The active compounds noted above are for our latest batch of medicinal mushrooms, each batch is unique and has a slightly different amount of active compounds.
Why mushroom coffee?
There are multiple reasons why adaptogens, such as medicinal mushrooms, and coffee are the perfect pairing. The first is with adaptogenic coffee you get all the benefits of regular coffee whilst minimizing any side-effects. Caffeine is a nootropic, it increases our alertness and attention by blocking our adenosine receptors (which make us drowsy), however, caffeine can also increase our cortisol levels (our stress hormone) – which can result in jitters/anxiety. Adaptogens can help balance our cortisol levels, allowing us to enjoy coffee and get the benefits of caffeine whilst minimising stress! Mushroom coffee has been especially well-received by those of us who are usually sensitive to caffeine, allowing us to enjoy coffee and get the benefits of caffeine – which is a nootropic in itself for its positive effects on cognitive function, without the side-effects.
Secondly, caffeine is absorbed quickly and we can start feeling the benefits within 15mins of consumption, however it can lead to a crash. Adaptogens such as medicinal mushrooms can give us a sustained level of energy , without a crash. For example, cordyceps mushroom is known to boost our ATP, our energy molecule, which makes it ideal before working out or when fatigued.
What does mushroom coffee do?
Mushroom coffee provides a healthier alternative to regular coffee that’s just as delicious, with a slightly earthier flavour. It can help to reduce stress, boost your immune system and medicinal mushrooms are also anti-inflammatory and contain a high amount of antioxidants.
Antioxidants are the elements that we need to neutralise the free radicals in our bodies, protecting us from cell damage. Not only do they boost our overall health, but they’re also part of the fight against heart disease and cancer. Medicinal mushrooms have been used in traditional medicine in Japanese and Chinese cultures for centuries.
What are the benefits of mushroom coffee?
Lion’s mane mushroom is known to improve memory, mental clarity, concentration and overall brain health. It contains unique neuroprotective and neuroregenerative compounds (such as hericenones, hericerins and erinacines) that are known to induce neurogenesis – the growth of new neurons in our brain by increasing the levels of nerve growth factor (NGF). NGF stimulates the growth and regeneration of brain cells, helping us to form new neural pathways – vital for cognitive function – and also improves the strength of neural pathways, essential for learning and memory. It’s neuroprotective, helping protect our brain health and can cross the blood-brain barrier, offering the potential to reduce and prevent neurodegenerative diseases such as slowing the rate of developing dementia and the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.
Cordyceps mushroom supports energy and stamina, it can increase aerobic capacity and oxygen flow to our brain and body and resistance to fatigue. Cordyceps are known to boost athletic performance through its ability to boost ATP, the primary carrier of energy in cells. These properties make cordyceps the perfect adaptogen to give us a natural boost pre-workout or when feeling fatigued. It’s also well-known for its strong antioxidant and immune-boosting properties.
These are the two medicinal mushrooms we use in our mushroom coffee blends Flow and Mojo. There are many other medicinal mushrooms such as reishi, chaga, maitake and turkey tail which all have health benefits of their own too.
Does mushroom coffee have caffeine?
You may find overall you consume less coffee and less caffeine, adaptogenic coffee can give you sustained energy levels and focus throughout the day and you’re less likely to experience a crash.
We still suggest keeping an eye on your caffeine intake if you know you’re sensitive to its effects. Caffeine is reported to have a half-life of upto 3-8hrs, meaning half of it is still in our bloodstream hours after consumption. This can affect sleep, as we’re all unique it’s important to listen to your body and internal cues, only having caffeine upto 10hrs before we sleep is sensible to ensure it’s completely left our bloodstream.
Is mushroom coffee good for you?
Along with the specific compounds and benefits of lion’s mane and cordyceps mentioned above, medicinal mushrooms are also recognised to be a great source of beta-glucans, which are naturally occurring polysaccharides, a prebiotic dietary fibre shown to improve the health of your heart and more. Mushroom-derived beta-glucans specifically have shown specific health benefits such as helping to support our immune health and promoting healthy gut flora in our microbiome.
Why is mushroom coffee good for you?
Our blog on the benefits of medicinal mushrooms takes an in-depth look into our favourite medicinal mushrooms. We also have an article on lion’s mane, one of the most popular mushroom extracts used in mushroom coffee.
Along with short-term benefits in helping us flow through our day, there are longer-term benefits with regular consumption over extended periods, such as improved long-term memory and brain health from taking lion’s mane.
Overall, providing your mind and body with balance, lower stress levels and a healthy immune-system, can help you to find your flow and have a more productive and healthier life!
Does mushroom coffee work?
Medicinal mushrooms have been used for centuries; it’s only recently that they’ve gained popularity in western society and there are many recent scientific studies proving the health benefits of medicinal mushrooms. And we’re still learning, last year (2020) a study was published showing cordyceps can help reset the body clock after jet lag!
Where can I get mushroom coffee?
Each of our blends have a specific focus designed to help you flow through the day, depending on what you need. We have two mushroom coffee blends, Flow for mental clarity and focus and Mojo for endurance & vitality.
We hope our FAQ into mushroom coffee has provided answers to all of your questions and shown you how combining medicinal mushrooms and coffee is an excellent alternative to regular coffee.
The only question we’ve missed when it comes to coffee and mushrooms is ‘What kind of mushrooms grow in coffee grounds?’ That’s not quite our area of expertise—we’ll leave that one to the more green-fingered of you!
