Brew yourself a strong cup of mushroom coffee

Most of us enjoy a morning cup of coffee to help us welcome the day. Some of us are a little grumpier without that morning cup than others, but for 83% of adult Americans, drinking coffee is an important part of life.

 Some people are swapping out this tradition however, and replacing their ordinary cups of coffee with mushroom coffee. Mushroom coffee is a blend of traditional coffee beans ground together with extracts of mushrooms that have powerful health benefits. These mushrooms usually are bitter with a similar flavor profile to coffee, making the blend an ideal way to get these mushrooms.

What’s in a shroom?

Cordyceps and Chaga mushrooms are the most common types of medicinal mushroom used in mushroom coffee. These mushrooms have been used in Chinese medicine for centuries, but have only just begun to be studied formally.

While it won’t help a trained athlete, cordyceps has been proven to boost exercise performance in beginner athletes. It’s also thought to be an anti-tumor, anti-aging and anti-inflammatory. Chaga is known as a powerful adaptogen, and can help boost mental health, stave off memory problems, and even reverse problems that have already occurred.

While most formal studies have taken place using animal subjects, studies done in humans have been very promising.

More studies need done

Those who swear by mushroom coffee usually point to anecdotal evidence for why they continue. Mushroom coffee makes them feel better, boosts their mood, or provides other perceived benefits. Although there are studies out there that may back up some of these claims, until firm evidence is done in human trials it remains purely anecdotal.

This may happen sooner than we think. Clinical trials on reishi mushrooms, another popular mushroom coffee ingredient, are beginning to study their anti-tumor properties.