Is Mushroom Coffee Worth It or Just Hype?

Mushroom coffee is not really what comes to mind when someone talks about a cup of coffee that has mushrooms floating on top of the liquid surface.

Mushroom coffee is a type of coffee that was made by combining finely ground mushrooms with coffee beans to produce rich, velvety, slightly nutty taste drink. Shiitake or Portobello culinary mushrooms are not normally used for making typical mushroom coffee as it contains extracts from medicinal mushrooms.

According to consumers opinions, the flavors of mushroom coffee and conventional coffee are more similar than at least dissimilar.

However, suggested benefits like reducing stress levels and making people less vulnerable to infections make mushroom coffee easily marketable.

How Mushroom Coffee Made?

In order to prepare mushroom coffee, it is necessary first to obtain the fruiting bodies of the mushrooms which can be turned into a refined organic powder with no fillers or any other additives used during its manufacture process.

Through a painstaking dual extraction process, involving dehydration of the mushrooms then pulverizing them into fine powder, it is possible to realize mushroom coffee. One needs to mix this dust with with finely pulverized coffee beans, usually at 1:1 proportion thereby coming up with mushroom flavored coffee.

With mushroom coffee, you can be as creative as you would with regular coffee and make excellent mochas, lattes or just drink it in its purest form like black coffee.

Less Caffeine than Regular Coffee

Mushroom coffee blends are marketed as a lower-caffeine alternative to typical coffee. Caffeine is a natural psychoactive substance that is present in many foods such as coffee, cocoa, and tea, and is also artificially added to other products.

Some people like pregnant or breastfeeding women, kids or people who are sick in the heart should be careful about consuming caffeine because it might hurt them.

Caffeine intake generally not exceeding 400 mg daily is often perceived to be harmless. However, some people find themselves suffering increased heart rates, anxiety, gastrointestinal upsets and other symptoms due to small quantities of this chemical if they are very reactive towards it.

Typically, mushroom coffee is made by mixing equal part mushroom powder and ground coffee beans. It reduces general caffeine amount by half when made the usual way since the mushrooms do not contain caffeine.

However, it is crucial to remember that not all types of mushroom coffee will result in a similar reduction in caffeine levels since often the actual amount of caffeine is not indicated on packaging of the product.

Potential Health Benefits of Mushroom Coffee

For many centuries, traditional Chinese medicine has taken advantage of healing mushrooms. These mushrooms contain compounds known as adaptogens, which are believed to enhance the body’s ability to respond to stress.

Researchers have had interest in researching the potential health benefits of adaptogens from medicinal mushrooms since the seventies. It is, however, important to realize that most studies on medicinal mushrooms have either been done in animals or using laboratory conditions.

Moreover, there are only limited well designed clinical trials in humans. The inability to directly translate the conclusions from these experiments to human beings or diseases is as a result of inadequate well designed clinical trials involving humans.

Current research does not investigate mushroom coffee. Hence, it is unsure if mushrooms and coffee beans together have any positive or negative effects on human health.

Although each has its benefits, medicinal mushrooms and coffee shouldn’t be taken for granted. This is important especially when it comes to mushroom coffee and associated health claims which have no scientific proof.

Here are a few scientific discoveries regarding the purported health benefits of medicinal mushrooms:

• Heart disease: Reishi extracts display useful promise in terms of reducing blood cholesterol which in turn lowers risks associated with heart diseases. (Source)
• Immunity Booster: The research made using test tubes has illustrated that Turkey tail mushrooms and their fermented substrates have several characteristics that help boost the immune system leading to an enhanced immunity. (Source)
• Anti-allergenic: It has been shown by Chaga mushroom that it has anti-allergy properties which are specific to food allergies case only. In laboratory tests, chaga mushroom can inhibit key immune cells from triggering allergies against some forms of food. (Source)
• Cancer prevention potential: Studies of Lion’s mane, Reishi, Turkey tail, Chaga, and Cordyceps indicate they may have potential for cancer prevention. They seem to have some mild properties for helping patients undergoing cancer treatments, such as reducing nausea and vomiting. (Source)
• Antiulcer: Research on rats indicates that Chaga mushrooms have possibilities in combating ulcers. An experimental research on rats gives us the information in relation to Chaga mushrooms. (Source)

Although there is some good news, more studies with people are needed if we want to give credence to what they say mushroom coffee blends can do for you.

Downsides of Mushroom Coffee

Mushroom coffee may catch your interest, but you need to know certain things about it. A major disadvantage is that there are few studies on the effects it has on people.

Although most studies come from in vitro studies or laboratory animals, it is important that research with human subjects be done in order to confirm alleged benefits.

This information absence raises legitimate safety issues about the dosage that is safe, whom mushroom coffee for, medication interaction with it and who should never intake mushroom coffee.

Moreover, the price for mushroom coffee tends to be higher compared to standard coffee and you would be surprised how frequently one might require paying twice for it such as when purchasing twelve ounces (340 grams) bags.

But what actually causes this elevated price? The answer lies in the origins of these magic mushrooms as they are usually gathered from the woods rather than growing them artificially at farms making these items less accessible.

Final Words

The popularity of mushroom coffee has been growing over the years due to its distinctive combination of conventional coffee with medicinal mushroom extracts like Chaga, Cordyceps, Reishi, Lion’s mane and Turkey tail.

Although there are several health benefits based on claims associated with mushrooms and mushroom coffee in addressing different health situations, it is vital not to forget that many of these claims have not been verified and require additional research by mankind.

[Please note: The above is generic advice, and it’s always recommended to consult with a healthcare professional before making significant changes to your diet, especially if you have underlying health conditions.]