Mushroom coffee has become an increasingly trendy alternative to traditional coffee. Often made by mixing regular coffee with extracts from medicinal mushrooms like chaga, cordyceps, reishi or lion’s mane mushrooms – some brands claim that drinking mushroom coffee can boost immunity, assist weight loss and improve mental and physical performance by activating body adaptogens that help people cope with stress while simultaneously reducing inflammation and improving sleep.

Although mushroom products have many health claims, little human research has been done on their effectiveness for improving mental and physical function. Though medicinal mushrooms have long been used as both food and medicine in China and India, the newer mushroom coffee products might not deliver on all their promises of improved mental and physical function.

These mushroom coffee elixirs differ significantly from the edible, flavorful mushrooms we cultivate or find at grocery stores; rather, these functional mushrooms tend to be hard and inedible in their natural state, so they’re dehydrated and ground into powder before mixing it with instant coffee grounds to produce a beverage with a similar appearance and taste to regular coffee beverages.

Most mushroom-based products are promoted as having less caffeine than regular coffee, though this information is usually not listed on product packaging. Caffeine is a psychoactive chemical which may lead to feelings of anxiety, jitteriness and rapid heart rate in some individuals – pregnant or breastfeeding women, children as well as those who already have heart conditions are at a higher risk for experiencing negative side effects from caffeine consumption.

Psilocybin coffee, a mushroom-based beverage that has recently seen immense growth in popularity in the US, contains microdoses of psilocybin found in magic mushrooms. As part of the modern revival of psychedelic science, its purported healing powers for depression, addiction and trauma have been touted – however its effectiveness remains uncertain since only limited trials on humans and animals have taken place thus far.

Are You Curious About Mushroom Coffee But Don’t Know Where to Begin? Online retailers such as Amazon offer several brands of mushroom coffee for purchase. Most products feature equal amounts of mushroom powder and regular coffee beans in each blend; if you own your own grinder and enjoy grinding beans yourself, making your own batch can easily be achieved by adding powder to existing grounds; alternatively check with health food stores nearby as pre-made mushroom beverages might also be available there.