Touted as a healthier Quality mushroom coffee to your morning cup of joe, mushroom coffee is a blend of ground and dried mushrooms mixed with regular instant coffee. These medicinal mushrooms—typically chaga, lion’s mane, reishi or cordyceps—are chosen for their purported health benefits, and when they are combined with the caffeine found in coffee beans, it is said to provide a variety of positive effects on your body.
Mushroom coffee is promoted as a way to help reduce stress and boost your immune system, and some studies have shown that these medicinal mushrooms may do just that. However, it is important to take any claim of health benefits associated with mushroom brews with a huge grain of salt. This is because it hasn’t been proven that drying, extracting and brewing mushrooms in combination with coffee leaves preserves their health-boosting properties.
How Mushroom Coffee Can Help Reduce Stress and Anxiety
When made properly, mushroom coffee can actually taste quite similar to regular coffee. Most people report a slight, nutty or earthy flavor that is easily overcome with milk and sweetener. Moreover, by the time it is ground up, brewed and put into powder form for consumption, most people don’t even notice that the drink contains any kind of mushroom at all.
Mushroom coffee is a relatively new trend in North America, but it has long been used in other parts of the world for its nourishing and healing properties. The adaptogenic mushrooms in this elixir are thought to support the body’s normal functions by regulating stress and helping restore a sense of balance after times of high stress, and some studies have demonstrated these mushrooms may increase concentration and mental clarity.