Mushroom coffee?

[sassenach]

I’m intrigued by these adaptogen/mushroom coffee alternatives. Anyone drink these? What brands to you enjoy and have you appreciated a benefit?

[Katy]

Never tried it, but I'm interested too.

[Indigo Blue]

I’ve never tried it, but I’ve heard so many rave about Four Sigmatic. 

[dsmith]

My sister loves Ryze, but I haven't tried it. 

[Faith-manor]

I read a Cleveland Clinic nutritionist article on it. The gist is that if is a small amount of mushroom added to cover grounds. It slightly reduces the amount of caffeine intake just because of replacing a small portion of the grounds, but all of the interesting healthy compounds of the mushrooms are basically destroyed. So it isn't a healthier choice, just a choice among flavors of coffee really. The suggestion was that if you like an umami type flavor profile for your coffee then go for it. But if you want to make a change for health. Reduce the amount of coffee you drink and then eat mushrooms that have been prepared in healthier ways like sliced on salads, roasted briefly, saute', etc.

[Corraleno]

I tried Four Sigmatic a couple of years ago, although I was mostly putting it in smoothies or using it for iced coffee drinks rather than drinking it hot. I thought I might have felt a small effect, but it could just as easily have been a placebo. My main issue with it though was the expense — those tiny packets cost more than $1 each and they only make a very small (like 6 oz or so) cup of coffee, with half the caffeine of a normal cup (~50 mg). So if you want something close to a regular cup of coffee, you'd be using 2 packets and paying over $2 for a cup of mediocre-tasting instant coffee with a tiny amount of mushrooms that may or may not do anything. If you want to try medicinal mushrooms (chaga, cordyceps, lion's mane, reishi, etc.) I'd go with a supplement, which is likely to have much higher potency plus be less expensive.

 

 

[Corraleno]

2 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

But if you want to make a change for health. Reduce the amount of coffee you drink and then eat mushrooms that have been prepared in healthier ways like sliced on salads, roasted briefly, saute', etc.

Medicinal mushrooms generally don't taste good, though. Lion's mane is good, although it's really hard to find in grocery stores and costs a fortune if you can find it, but chaga and reishi are quite bitter and are really more medicine than food. I do eat a variety of mushrooms every week, although anything other than shiitake or cremini/portabello are pretty pricey; Whole Foods usually has a "Chef's Selection" package of several different types which varies from week to week and I usually get those. But I've never seen Lion's Mane in any grocery store around here.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Corraleno

[Grace Hopper]

I’ve been so intrigued by the mushroom studies. If brewing mushrooms destroys the benefits, how does cooking in other ways not? I mean aren’t shrooms traditionally consumed in tea for the <ahem> classic sort of mind effects?

I should look up more studies. I like mushrooms, lately we’ve been grilling portobello caps and topping them with goat cheese, soooo good. 
 

 

[Grace Hopper]

Just now, Corraleno said:

Medicinal mushrooms generally don't taste good, though. Lion's mane is good, although it's really hard to find in grocery stores and costs a fortune if you can find it, but chaga and reishi are quite bitter and are really more medicine than food. I do eat a variety of mushrooms every week, although anything other than shiitake or cremini/portabello are pretty pricey; Whole Foods usually has a "Chef's Selection" package of several different types which varies from week to week and I usually get those. But I've never seen Lion's Mane for in any grocery store around here.

How do you prepare the more bitter tasting varieties? The “Chef’s Selection”?

[Corraleno]

2 minutes ago, Grace Hopper said:

How do you prepare the more bitter tasting varieties? The “Chef’s Selection”?

The mushrooms in the Chef's Selection Sampler (sorry I misremembered the name) aren't the bitter medicinal ones, they're all tasty varieties like enoki, oyster, trumpet, pioppini, etc., so I just cook them like any other mushrooms, either tossed in a stir fry or sautéed and served in pasta, soup, or rice dishes. I actually have a ton of mushrooms in the fridge at the moment because I got a huge box of cremini at Costco, then some shiitake from TJs, and a Chef's Sampler from Whole Foods, and I also have a big bunch of lacinto kale I need to use up, so I was thinking of making a creamy mushroom soup with wild rice, cannellini beans, and kale.

[Boymama5]

I drink Ryze and do like it. I have noticed a lot less bloat and stomach issues since starting it a couple of months ago. The flavor to us is a mild hot chocolate  I’ve also enjoyed more even energy and less caffeine spike than drop which made me feel faint.  I do still drink one cup of regular coffee a day and one cup of Ryze, sometimes two. I’m drinking it more so because I like it, wanted to drink less coffee and in the end I like my personal results from drinking it. Not sure if the other promoter things actually happen. 

[TGH]

I tried Ryze but after 3 days I woke up with awful nausea and 4 days later I'm still not feeling well.