6 Best Mushroom Coffee Brands (2023 Reviews)
Drinking mushroom coffee may seem unorthodox if you are used to a morning cup of traditional coffee. But you must be one of the few brave coffee lovers if you are reading this.
Spice up your daily coffee habit by replacing your traditional cup with the delicious taste of these top mushroom coffee brands.
At A Glance:
- TOP PICK: PureShrooms
- RUNNER-UP: The Youth Effect
- BUDGET PICK: WL Herbal Treasure
Reviews of the 6 Best Mushroom Coffee Brands in 2023
Home Grounds has compiled a review of the best mushroom coffees in 2022. We have looked into the types of featured mushrooms, the tasting notes, and whether organic mushrooms have been used. As a bonus, we’ve inspected the mushroom coffee benefits for each of the following products.
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PureShrooms |
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The Youth Effect |
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VitaCup Focus |
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Four Sigmatic |
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La Republica Decaf |
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WL Herbal Treasure |
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1. PureShrooms – Best Overall
Mushroom Type: Ashwagandha & Chaga
- Tasting Notes: Balanced, Rich, & Smooth
- 100% Organic: Yes
- Benefits: Balance, Energy, & Focus
Balance yourself with the best mushroom coffee on the market devoid of any mushroom taste. If you are a die-hard French Press user like me, it’ll come in handy for a satisfying USA-grown Ashwagandha and Chaga mushroom brew with PureShroom’s 100% organic medium roast ground coffee. Using drip coffee or pour over brewing methods also work. The result is an energizing, smooth, and rich mushroom blend that brings balance to your mind and taste buds.
With 1500 mg of fruiting body mushroom extracts per serving, this is three times more than most mushroom coffee brands, giving more focus.
Like most mushroom coffees, this one helps by boosting your immune system, reducing stress, and enhancing your mental well-being. Before you know it, you’ll forget all about the coffee you pressed before as you sip up the health benefits of this tasty and Fair Trade coffee alternative.
2. The Youth Effect – Runner Up
Mushroom Type: Ashwagandha & Chaga
- Tasting Notes: Creamy, Rich, & Smooth
- 100% Organic: Yes
- Benefits: Balance, Calm, & Relief
For the stressed, burnt-out, and anxious over-thinkers out there who drink more coffee than they should (yes, I’m calling us both out here), The Youth Effect gives you your coffee fix minus the jitters. This premium mushroom botanically-infused instant coffee is made from 100% Arabica coffee, 300 mg of Ashwagandha mushrooms, 100 mg of Chaga mushrooms, and 200 mg of the stress-reducing holy basil leaf Tulsi, all in one serving.
This 100% organic coffee alternative has half the caffeine in its medium roast, and it comes with rich, creamy, and smooth tasting notes. After a cup of this, you’ll be left feeling relaxed, relieved, balanced, and calm all-day with the inner peace-inducing adaptogens in this blend. Each tin even comes with a cute bamboo lid to reconnect you with a bit of nature every time you go to make yourself an instant brew.
3. VitaCup Focus – Best Coffee Pods
Mushroom Type: Chaga & Lion’s Mane
- Tasting Notes: Earthy, Full-bodied, Smooth, & Sweet
- 100% Organic: No
- Benefits: Clarity, Memory, & Nutrient-dense
Coffee pods are quick, comfortable, and convenient. VitaCup Focus coffee is the only choice on this list that offers highly-rated K-cup coffee pods that are recyclable with their easy peel tabs and are Keurig-compatible with the 1.0 & 2.0 brewing systems.
This 100% Arabica coffee was roasted, blended, and nitrogen-sealed in the US. It features Chaga mushrooms and Lion’s Mane mushrooms, which offer the benefits of improved memory and clarity. They are also packed with nutritious vitamins, including B1, B5, B6, B9, B12, and D3. They even have artichoke insulin, which is a powerful fibre that leaves you feeling fuller for longer. Get your daily nutrients along with some sweet earthy tones in a smooth and full-bodied cup.
Your immune system, digestion, and overall well-being will thank you. Not only that, but you’ll get enough of an energy boost to maintain focus, alertness, and enhanced cognition throughout your day. The only thing is that they do not specify if they are 100% organic. Each box comes with 16 coffee pods for you to try.
4. Four Sigmatic – Best Instant
Mushroom Type: Chaga & Lion’s Mane
- Tasting Notes: Full-bodied & Smooth
- 100% Organic: Yes
- Benefits: Focus, Creativity, & Productivity
Some mornings you just need something to wake you up instantly. Four Sigmatic offers you just that: packets of mushroom coffee, each ready instantly with 7 fl. oz. of hot water This Fair Trade coffee is mainly made with two functional mushroom types: Chaga and Lion’s Mane. There are plenty of Chaga mushroom coffee and Lion’s Mane mushroom coffee benefits to be found here.
In mushroom coffees, Lion’s Mane boosts your creativity and productivity, and Chaga enhances your immune function with lots of antioxidants.
Focus without crashing as you drink this Nootropic coffee. You’re in good hands with the mushrooms’ full and active fruiting bodies present in your brew instead of simply the mycelium. Mushroom coffee blends that only use the root systems of mushrooms are not making the best use of mushrooms.
Enjoy the smooth and full-bodied taste of this 100% organic coffee. Use almond milk or any milk and sweetener of your choice if you wish to enhance the taste.
5. La Republica Decaf – Best Decaf
Mushroom Type: Chaga, Cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, Maitake, Reishi, Shiitake, & Turkey Tail
- Tasting Notes: Creamy, Chocolatey, & Rich
- 100% Organic: Yes
- Benefits: Calm, Energy, & Focus
If you can’t decide on which type of mushroom you want in your mushroom coffee, don’t worry. La Republica has a 100% organic best decaf mushroom coffee choice that uses the whole fruiting bodies of not just one but SEVEN superfood mushrooms. We’re talking Chaga, Cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, Maitake, Reishi, Shiitake, and Turkey Tail. These mushrooms are all sourced from special farms in pristine isolated forests. Their main benefits include bestowing you with a calm, clear, and focused energy supply throughout the day, all with the taste of coffee without the actual caffeine!
Simply add 1 tsp to 175 to 240 ml of hot water, stir, and enjoy! There are no chemical preservatives in this creamy and rich chocolatey-tasting coffee. No post-coffee crash, no gluten, and no dairy, all to help with decreasing inflammation and enhancing stomach health and liver performance with a neutralized acidity. Enjoy this USDA Certified Organic, NON-GMO, Fair Trade, and vegan-friendly mushroom coffee served in reusable BPA-free jars.
6. WL Herbal Treasure – Budget Pick
Mushroom Type: Chaga, Cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, & Reishi
- Tasting Notes: Decadent
- 100% Organic: Yes
- Benefits: Brain Booster, Immunity Increaser, & Stamina Strengthener
WL Herbal Treasure may be the most affordable and budget friendly pick on this list, but that has no impact on the quality of the mushroom coffee that comes from them. This 100% organic mushroom coffee uses Arabica coffee ice extract and has 130 mg each of Chaga, Cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, and Reishi mushrooms per serving in its Blue Mountain Cold Brew coffee. This results in what they describe to be a golden delicacy of decadent tasting notes.
Simply take 1 instant coffee packet from a box of 15 and mix it with 200 ml of water. For more of a traditional cold brew, use cold water. For a fancier iced coffee version, add water that is between 90 to 96 degrees Celsius and stir thoroughly with ice and milk and sweetener of your choice. With just half the caffeine you’ll definitely feel your brain function, immunity, and stamina increase tenfold.
What Is The Best Mushroom Coffee?
Choosing the best mushroom coffees ultimately comes down to personal preference. To discover what that is, consider the following factors:
- the mushrooms featured
- mushroom taste
- if they’re 100% organic matters
- different health benefits of the mushroom types used
Coffee Made From Mushrooms
Consuming mushroom coffee entails a lot of different factors (1).
Functional mushrooms are typically the types of mushrooms used in mushroom coffee and are categorized as either an adaptogenic mushroom or a medicinal mushroom, or even both.
Adaptogenic mushrooms are known for easing stress.
Medicinal mushrooms have medicinal properties, such as their anti-inflammatory effects.
The following are the five main types of mushrooms used in the best mushroom coffee brands on our list:
Chaga Mushrooms
Chaga mushrooms are health boosters, improving overall health and immune function. They have treatment effects on some cancers, nausea, diabetes by lowering blood sugar, and heart disease by lowering cholesterol (2). Hot coffee and cold brew activate Chaga’s properties.
Cordyceps Mushrooms
Cordyceps mushrooms are excellent exercise enhancers that improve oxygen use within the body. They also have anti-ageing properties, such as alleviating chronic fatigue with their antioxidants, inhibiting cancer cell growth, and similar treatment effects on inflammation, type 2 diabetes, and the heart as Chaga medicinal mushrooms (3).
Lion’s Mane Mushrooms
Lion’s mane mushrooms tackle the brain, the gut, and the heart, most notably protecting against anxiety, depression, dementia, stomach ulcers, certain cancers, and heart disease, all while boosting immunity (4).
Reishi Mushrooms
Reishi mushrooms treat matters of the heart by treating quality of life via lowering depression, fatigue levels, and inflammation (5).
Turkey Tail Mushrooms
Turkey tail mushrooms focus on gut health and immunity by containing prebiotics, the polysaccharopeptides PSK and PSP, and phenol and flavonoid antioxidants (6).
Another Factor To Consider: How Do You Like Your Coffee?
Do you prefer a slower start to your day by making a meditative, pressed coffee brew? Or do you need a slightly stronger coffee from a coffee machine? Or, perhaps, you want a quick DIY instant coffee pick-me-up?
How fast and easy you like your coffee influences your choice of mushroom coffee. Luckily, plenty of options exist in the form of ground coffee, instant coffee, or coffee pods.
What Does Mushroom Coffee Taste Like?
Mushroom coffee tastes like coffee. Surprised? We were, too, as were dietary experts (7).
Interestingly enough, mushroom coffee tastes pretty similar to regular coffee. It is, after all, coffee with mushroom extracts blended in.
Allow this fact to comfort you, knowing that you do not have to expect little chunks of mushrooms floating at the top of your coffee. Best of all is that you do not even taste them. (8)
Perhaps the biggest benefit I see is that coffee can mask the taste of the mushroom powder as many people find mushrooms unpleasant. It may also be more convenient for people to drink it rather than cook and eat whole mushrooms.
It may not be cake, but you can have your coffee and eat your mushrooms, too.
Organic Mushroom Coffee
Most mushroom coffees are made 100% organically, including the types of Arabica coffee beans and mushrooms used. It is best to seek out brands with organic ingredients to avoid the pesticides used in growing mushrooms and coffee, gaining more nutrients as a result. It is not a requirement for your mushroom coffee to be organic, but chances are, if you are looking to pick this type of coffee up for its benefits, you may as well go all out and get the most out of it.
Mushroom Coffee Benefits
Functional mushrooms are known for their health benefits as well as for their inherent nutritional value. The active compounds are what give a functional mushroom its benefits. If a particular mushroom coffee uses mycelium, this refers to the mushroom’s vegetative body or root. In contrast, the fruiting body is the entirety of a functional mushroom and has most of these active compounds. The entire fruiting bodies are used in PureShrooms and Four Sigmatic on this list, giving them more beta-glucans that help bolster immunity and fatigue endurance (9).
In terms of general mushroom coffee benefits, these commonly include the following:
- Anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenic, and antiulcer effects
- Reduced risk of heart disease with lowered blood cholesterol levels
- Immune-boosting effects with increased vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant properties
- Alleviated stress, inflammation, and nausea
Take these benefits with a grain of salt (but not in your coffee).
The effects of mushroom coffees may present differently depending on the individual coffee drinker, the types of mushrooms used per serving, the specific blends they are made into, and the amount of each type of mushroom component incorporated. (9)
Now, if you want to try another healthy coffee substitute, you can try maca coffee instead.
The Verdict
Home Ground’s favourite mushroom coffee brand this year is PureShrooms. They include a high concentration of Ashwagandha & Chaga in a flavourful cup, delivering calm and focused energy. It’s quick to prepare and will make you feel like you’re walking on air.
Functional mushrooms make a great addition to your coffee consumption in mushroom coffee blends. They have less caffeine per serving, come with various health benefits, and mask the taste of mushrooms in a cold brew or hot coffee. If you want to switch to a healthier coffee, try one of these mushroom coffees.
FAQs
Mushroom coffee is said to be good for you as it helps with sleep quality, stress levels, memory abilities, energy levels, pain management, and more. However, these benefits are not very well documented, and most of these claims come via word of mouth. Adding whole mushrooms to your diet via regular foods is recommended rather than solely seeking out the purported health benefits of mushroom coffee, which can make this choice quite expensive in the long run. (7)
Mushroom coffee is better than regular coffee, depending on your personal preferences. Mushroom coffee is regular coffee, but the main difference is that the most common blend of mushroom coffee available is made with mushroom extract and instant coffee. Drying and extraction processes get the beneficial compounds out of mushrooms and into regular coffee by blending them. If you want to sneak vegetables into your brew without tasting them, mushroom coffee does the trick. (8)
The side effects of mushroom coffee are not well known due to a lack of research studies conducted on humans. Most information is gathered from studying animals and using test tubes. It isn’t easy to verify for whom it is beneficial to drink and in what dosages as well as whether you can take it alongside medications or with the presence of health conditions. If you are unsure, consult your doctor first. (10)
Mushroom coffee has caffeine, but much less of it than regular coffee. Mushroom coffee typically contains equal parts ground coffee beans and caffeine-free mushroom powder. Since coffee with mushrooms has fewer ground coffee beans per serving, it has just half the amount of caffeine, or ~50-60mg, as a standard cup of coffee, or ~100-150mg. This makes mushroom coffee a great choice for coffee drinkers watching their caffeine content. Decaffeinated coffee is still the ideal choice for eliminating caffeine. (1)
References
- Alexis, A. C. (2021, May 12). Is Mushroom Coffee Worth the Hype? An Expert’s Take. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mushroom-coffee
- Brown, M. J. (2018, October 25). What Are Chaga Mushrooms and Are They Healthy? Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/chaga-mushroom
- Van De Walle, G. (2018, May 9). 6 Benefits of Cordyceps, All Backed by Science. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cordyceps-benefits
- Julson, E. (2018, May 19). 9 Health Benefits of Lion’s Mane Mushroom (Plus Side Effects). Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/lions-mane-mushroom
- Tinsley, G. (2018, March 31). 6 Benefits of Reishi Mushroom (Plus Side Effects and Dosage). Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/reishi-mushroom-benefits
- Kubala, J. (2018, November 6). 5 Immune-Boosting Benefits of Turkey Tail Mushroom. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/turkey-tail-mushroom
- Cleveland Clinic. (2020, May 19). Mushroom Coffee: Should You Be Drinking It? Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://health.clevelandclinic.org/mushroom-coffee-should-you-be-drinking-it/
- Andersen, C. H. (2021, May 18). Should You Be Drinking Mushroom Coffee? Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.thehealthy.com/nutrition/mushroom-coffee/
- Real Mushrooms. (n.d.). Medicinal Mushroom Benefits: Mycelium vs Fruiting Body. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://www.realmushrooms.com/medicinal-mushroom-benefits-fruiting-body-vs-mycelium/
- Benisek, A. (2021, May 20). Mushroom Coffee: Are There Health Benefits? Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.webmd.com/diet/mushroom-coffee-health-benefits
