There are weird and wonderful food trends cropping up all over the place and the latest on the scene is mushroom coffee. Superfoods are spamming people’s online profiles daily, whether they like it or not and mushroom coffee has been crowned the next big thing.
All caffeine addicts know the boosting benefits of their regular cup of tea or coffee, it increases metabolism, makes the morning easier and is even thought to protect against Parkinson’s disease, but that doesn’t remove the fact caffeine comes with its down sides, insomnia, anxiety and stomach problems. This is where the mushroom coffee, created by Four Sigmatic comes in. The coffee is made from medicinal mushrooms and the company claims to have created the worlds healthiest coffee, providing all the benefits of the standard brew with no nasty side effects.
So far the new-found fad has received some mixed reviews, with some claiming you can’t taste a difference and others declaring a distinct earthy bark like flavour. The founder of the company, Tero Isokaupilla has even said the Reishi blend is too acidic and suggests sweetening the beverage with almond milk or honey. Some have also said to feel no caffeine kick whatsoever while others felt a direct boost in energy.
This new superfood infused drink is created by picked wild mushrooms being dried and boiled before they are liquefied for maximum nutritional value. After this they are combined with an organic and instant coffee powder made from mild Arabica beans found in Central America, the mixture then just needs adding to hot water like any other instant coffee product.
Four Stigmatic offer a wide range of mushroom blends with each offering their own unique health benefits. The Maitake blend is believed to help regulate blood sugar levels and boost productivity while the Reishi blend is recommended for stress relief, the coffee is also vegan friendly, sugar free, allergen free and paleo-friendly appealing to the modern market. Still it is hard not to remain sceptical and even natural products can have side effects that we might not expect.
It is unlikely that mushroom coffee will have quite the same impacting boost as your regular caffeine kick but if you are looking to reduce your intake and want to try a healthy alternative then this could be the drink for you.
