Benefits of mushroom coffee

What is mushroom coffee?

If you’ve never heard of mushroom coffee before, the idea might sound a little strange. After all, we’re used to putting ingredients like chocolate, cinnamon, and agave nectar in our coffee, but not fungi! Yet the concept itself is nothing new.

Practitioners of traditional medicine have been consuming functional mushrooms in drinks for generations. Meanwhile, in Finland people used chaga mushrooms as a coffee substitute during World War II, when the real thing was in short supply.(1) And thanks to the many benefits of mushroom coffee, it’s now celebrated as a health-boosting beverage around the world.

So, what exactly is mushroom coffee? You might be visualising a cross between coffee and mushroom soup, but don’t worry! The drink looks just like a normal cup of joe. The difference is that it’s made with ground medicinal mushrooms in addition to coffee beans.

Taste-wise, mushroom coffee is similar to regular coffee, but with more of a nutty, earthy flavour. The specifics will vary slightly depending on the type of fungi you use, because each has a unique flavour profile. Different functional fungi also have their own individual strengths when it comes to the potential health benefits of mushroom coffee.

The health benefits of coffee

Before we look at the benefits of mushroom coffee, it’s worth touching on the wellness-enhancing properties of coffee in general. Many of us consume it every morning to tackle fatigue, but coffee does more than prepare you for the day.

For instance, research links drinking coffee with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.(2) The drink may even significantly reduce the chances of developing depression.(3) Coffee’s neuroprotective effects could also lessen the risk of cognitive decline and conditions like dementia.(4)

Interestingly, coffee might be beneficial for weight management too. This is because it can decrease body fat and enhance gut health.(5)

So, how could adding mushrooms to your coffee bring even greater health benefits? Let’s take a look.

What are the benefits of mushroom coffee?

For those unfamiliar with them, medicinal mushrooms are specific species of fungi that have health-boosting properties beyond their nutritional value. And it’s because of these benefits that mushroom coffee is soaring in popularity. While each variety of fungi has its own advantages, there are numerous ones that they all share.

For example, one of the principal benefits of drinking mushroom coffee is the positive influence it can have on immunity. Functional fungi are rich in potent polysaccharides called beta-glucans. These help to activate certain types of immune cells, including macrophages and natural killer cells.(6)

In addition, beta-glucans act as a prebiotic.(7) That means they nourish the good bacteria in your gut and enable them to flourish. This further supports immunity because much of the immune system is located in the gut. Moreover, the condition of the gut even affects our brain health. So another of the benefits of mushroom coffee is that it enhances our mental health and cognitive functions.

Medicinal mushrooms also possess anti-inflammatory properties. This is key because experts have linked chronic inflammation with a host of diseases, from arthritis and diabetes to cancer. On top of this, functional fungi can act as antioxidants. That means they protect your cells against the damage caused by free radicals. Research suggests that such oxidative stress may contribute to several harmful health conditions, as well as ageing.

Improved cardiovascular health could also be among the many benefits of drinking mushroom coffee. Beta-glucans can work to improve cholesterol levels, which in turn lowers the risk of heart disease.(8)

That’s a lot of excellent reasons to give mushroom coffee a try!

The benefits of mushroom coffee for mental health

Excitingly, the health benefits of mushroom coffee go beyond our physical wellbeing. The drink may also be good for our mental health.

As touched on above, one reason for this is the positive effect functional fungi can have on gut health. The gut produces certain neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which influence our emotions.(9) Therefore, keeping it healthy could actually help to boost your mood.

However, that’s not all. Medicinal mushrooms also function as adaptogens. This means they enable your mind and body to cope with short and long-term stress more effectively. That includes emotional stress as well as physical stress. Both can have very detrimental effects on our wellbeing, making this one of the key benefits of mushroom coffee.

There are two types of fungi in particular that are advantageous for our mental health: reishi and lion’s mane. Starting with reishi powder, studies have shown that this mushroom could help to relieve feelings of both depression and anxiety.(10) Furthermore, reishi can improve the quality and duration of your sleep.(11) Good sleep is among the most important factors in boosting both our mental and physical wellbeing. As such, this is one of the central benefits of mushroom coffee made with reishi.

Moving on to lion’s mane powder, this fungus also has the potential to reduce feelings of anxiety and depression.(12) It contains bioactive compounds called hericenones and erinacines, which could boost dopamine levels and stimulate the growth of brain cells. Consequently, lion’s mane can additionally protect against memory loss, cognitive decline, and neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.(13) All of which means lion’s mane is perfect if you want a mushroom coffee that helps to improve your focus.

Related reading

• The best mushrooms for gut health
• Four fantastic mushrooms for energy

Which mushrooms should I use in coffee?

One of the great benefits of mushroom coffee is that you can tailor it to suit your needs by choosing which fungi you make it with. We’ve already discussed the advantages of reishi and lion’s mane, but these are far from the only two options.

For example, if you’re hoping to bolster your digestive system, turkey tail powder is ideal. Studies show it can increase levels of good bacteria such as Lactobacillus, while simultaneously lowering levels of harmful bacteria.(14) This is thanks to a bioactive component called polysaccharopeptide, or PSP, which exerts a positive influence on the gut microbiome.

Conversely, those who would like to enhance their endurance and athletic performance should consider cordyceps powder. Research suggests the fungi can improve the way the body uses oxygen, plus help to raise your VO2 max.(15) Cordyceps could increase the production of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, which helps get energy to your muscles. It may also make the body more efficient at clearing lactate from cells, reducing the risk of lactate acidosis.(16)

Shiitake powder is another good choice if energy is among the benefits of mushroom coffee you’re most interested in. This is because it’s rich in B vitamins, which help make red blood cells and generate energy from food. Meanwhile, agaricus blazei powder may work to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, enhancing your cardiovascular health.

Alternatively, you can go back to mushroom coffee’s Finnish roots and make the drink with chaga powder. This could help to improve blood sugar levels and might additionally have benefits for skin health. The latter is thanks to chaga’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, plus its ability to stimulate the production of collagen.

Does mushroom coffee contain caffeine?

One of the purported benefits of mushroom coffee is that it has less caffeine than regular coffee. However, this entirely depends on how you make the drink. If you simply add fungi powder to a normal cup of coffee, the caffeine levels are the same. Whereas if you substitute some of the ground coffee for the mushroom powder, the caffeine levels are correspondingly lower.

It’s worth noting that it is not necessarily a bad thing that mushroom coffee contains caffeine. Plenty of studies have found the stimulant has beneficial effects. For example, it can improve alertness, reaction time, and memory, plus boost your metabolism.

However, there are those who find caffeine makes them jittery or reduces the quality of their sleep. If that sounds like you, try using the latter method for making mushroom coffee. Then you’ll be able to avoid these negative side effects.

How do you make mushroom coffee?

Once you’ve chosen which fungi to use, the next step is to make your mushroom coffee. So, how do we do that? It’s honestly really simple. All you need to do is stir half a teaspoon of mushroom powder into your normal coffee. That’s it!

The reason this works is that hot water helps to draw out the nutrients within the fungi powder. And you can mix it into black coffee, lattes, mochas, or any other style you prefer. However, what truly enables you to enjoy the benefits of mushroom coffee is the quality of the powder you use.

That’s why we work with expert mycologists to produce all our functional fungi products. They combine over 20 years of experience with the latest scientific research findings to ensure our powders are top quality.

We cultivate our mushrooms under meticulously controlled conditions in Europe. Our team grows them on natural and organic substrates specially designed to give them all the nutrients they require. The only exception is our chaga, which we wild harvest in the forests of Finland, where it grows naturally.

Once they’re mature, we carefully dry the fungi and then grind them into a fine powder. There are no additives or filler ingredients, so what you get is 100% pure mushroom. To minimise our impact on the environment, we ship our powder out to you in environmentally friendly amber glass jars. Please reuse or recycle them once they’re empty!

We also have all our fungi checked by an independent and accredited quality tester. We can therefore say with confidence that they’re rich in beta-glucans and key secondary metabolites. So, rest assured that you’ll be getting the maximum benefits of mushroom coffee if you make it with our powders!

Enjoying the benefits of mushroom coffee safely

Experts widely agree that mushroom coffee is perfectly safe to consume. However, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding then it’s best not to take functional fungi – whether in coffee or not. Likewise, you shouldn’t give medicinal mushrooms (or coffee) to children. This is simply because there hasn’t yet been sufficient research to say if functional fungi are safe for these groups.

In addition, you should consult a doctor before drinking mushroom coffee if you have an existing health condition. The same goes if you are on any medication. The reason for this is that some functional fungi may interact with certain types of pharmaceutical drugs. Getting medical advice will help you avoid any unwanted side effects. And, of course, if you’re allergic to mushrooms then it’s best not to put them in your coffee!

You also need to ensure that you don’t exceed the recommended daily dosage of medicinal mushrooms. As a guide, we suggest taking half a teaspoon at a time, up to twice a day. So if you drink more than two coffees a day, don’t add fungi powder every time. Putting it in a couple of cups will be enough to get the benefits of mushroom coffee.

In line with this, it’s preferable to take functional fungi in cycles. That means having a break for a few weeks after 6-8 weeks of using medicinal mushrooms. This is because they can affect the functioning of your immune cells. Giving yourself a break ensures that you won’t build up a tolerance to them or over-stimulate your immune system.

Final thoughts on the benefits of mushroom coffee

Adding functional fungi to your morning coffee can be a fantastic way to enhance its health-boosting powers. There are plenty of potential benefits of mushroom coffee, enabling you to pick the most appropriate powder for your needs. And you don’t have to stick to just one – feel free to vary the fungi you use day by day. Either way, we’re sure that mushroom coffee will soon go from a strange-sounding concept to one of your favourite drinks!

Related reading

• Best mushrooms for anxiety and depression
• Agaricus blazei: benefits, uses and side effects