Best Mushrooms to Use, the Benefits, & a Step-by-Step Guide
If you are either a coffee or a mushroom lover, then you have most likely seen or come across mushroom coffee. Combining these two delicacies has become quite popular in recent years and for good reason. Adding a bit of mushrooms to your brew has some serious benefits!
Of course you can drink your coffee and consume your mushrooms separately, but combining them into a mushroom coffee brew is a fun and delicious way to get an energy boost and a health boost. Let’s take a look at the benefits mushroom coffee has to offer and which types of functional mushrooms are the best to use when learning how to make mushroom coffee.
Although mushroom coffee is a relatively new concept in North America, much of the rest of the world has been using mushrooms for their nutritional benefits for a long time. And this is for good reason! There are more than a few benefits to using mushrooms in your coffee as a nutritional additive.
Convenience is the first benefit we want to address. Many of us already have a daily coffee habit. But not many of us have a daily mushroom habit. Instead of working to create a new habit of enjoying daily mushrooms, it can be much easier to just supplement your current coffee habit. Not only that, but mushrooms are a fantastic source of vitamins that you will not get with just a cup of coffee alone. Adding a boost of nutrition to your coffee has never been easier! Some also find that mushrooms added to coffee enhance the overall flavor.
Aside from convenience, flavor, and nutritional values, adding mushrooms to your daily brew can bring you some serious health and nutritional benefits as well.* * A bit of mushroom powder or extract in your coffee can help your body adapt to stress (known as adaptogenic properties). In relation to that, mushrooms can also be good for your cognitive health. You may think more clearly, have a better memory, and just better overall brain health including protection from diseases like dementia (known as neuroprotective properties).
Mushrooms can also provide a lot of support to your immune system making it easier to fight off illness and stay healthy.* They also have potent antioxidant properties* which also helps in this respect. We all know caffeine in coffee provides a popular energy boost, but did you know that certain types of mushrooms can also give you a natural energy boost? It’s true! You could even skip the caffeine, drink decaf coffee, and just add some functional mushrooms to get you the energy you need to handle the day.
When choosing a type of mushroom while learning how to make mushroom coffee, you will want to consider both flavor and potential benefits. Each type of mushroom is known for specific benefits; they do not all share the same benefits. Popular mushrooms types include the following:
Keep in mind when learning how to make mushroom coffee, there is not just one way it, but the general principle is simply to combine mushroom powder with coffee beans or with ready-made hot coffee. First thing first, you need some mushroom powder. This can easily be bought from a number of retailers or you can just as easily make your own. Here is a guide on making mushroom powder capsules, just skip the capsule section and stop when you have your powder.
Once you have your mushroom powder, it is time to make mushroom coffee. You can do this in one of two ways. Either combine mushroom powder and coffee beans then make your coffee as you usually would, or make your coffee as you usually would then add in the mushroom powder when the coffee is still hot. We suggest using about 1 teaspoon of mushroom powder to begin with, but feel free to add more as needed or desired. You may also add sweetener and/or milk/cream to your coffee to make the flavor fit your preferences.
Adding mushrooms to your coffee is a convenient and easy way to add the benefits of mushrooms to your daily life. Mushrooms have cognitive benefits, immune-boosting properties, stress-relieving properties, antioxidative properties, and energy-boosting effects. Popular types of mushrooms to add to coffee include reishi, lion’s mane, chaga, cordyceps, and turkey tails. Each has a different flavor profile and different benefits so you can choose what works best for you. Adding mushrooms to your coffee is as simple as grinding up some dried mushroom powder then mixing it with coffee beans or with hot, already made, coffee.
