Mushroom coffee combines traditional coffee with medicinal mushrooms such as lion’s mane, chaga, reishi and cordyceps to provide increased focus and immunity benefits. Manufacturers boast of mushroom coffee’s beneficial effects.

Though research shows promise, before trying mushroom coffee it is wise to consult a physician as certain ingredients may interact with certain health conditions or medications taken for certain illnesses or medications that you take, while some products contain high concentrations of oxalates which may contribute to kidney issues.

Melting Forest

Melting Forest’s Adaptogenic Mushroom Coffee features organic Fair Trade Arabica beans for premium coffee flavor, combined with an infusion of chaga, lion’s mane, reishi, maitake turkey tail cordyceps mushrooms for added energy and holistic wellness support. In addition to these ingredients the coffee also features organic cacao extract and Rhodiolife Rhodiola support to provide extra mental clarity support.

Shroomi’s approach to mushroom coffee is refreshingly straightforward in an industry filled with boastful marketers peddling fantastical claims in overly-yassified millennial aesthetics. Their pre-ground mushroom coffee comes packaged unobtrusively like it might appear at a mall kiosk that used to sell blacklight posters until Spencer’s Gifts closed their storefronts.

This powder dissolves easily in hot water, with its mild flavor appealing to both newcomers to coffee as well as veteran drinkers transitioning away from Folgers and toward Stumptown. It pairs nicely with sweeter alternative milks and leaves a slight grainy sediment at the bottom of every cup – an amazing deal at $12 for 142 grams without subscriptions or kits to purchase online!

Shroomi

Many mushroom coffee brands advertise that their drinks can help improve immunity, boost energy and focus levels, improve digestion and help relieve stress relief – claims which often do not bear out under scientific scrutiny and drinkers may experience different reactions to individual drinks. Some mixes I tried, like Rasa Adaptogenic Mushroom Coffee’s herbal tea-like Rasa Adaptogenic Mushroom Coffee were caffeine-free while other beverages like Joe’y, Laird Superfood Perform and Four Sigmatic Focus contained comparable levels to traditional ground coffee; yet others like Joe’y Everyday Dose mix from Joe’s contained lower quantities or contained more or differently depending on preparation method used by individuals or their users.

My initial experimentation with mushroom coffees consisted of blends made up of ground coffee with mushroom extracts mixed in, commonly referred to as “mushroom-enhanced” or “functional” coffee. These tasted, brewed and looked nearly identical to regular coffee except with an earthy undertone from the mushrooms. My other attempt involved instant coffee mixes combined with other ingredients like stevia, coconut milk powder or cacao for quick drinks that could be stirred into water or milk in under one minute for quick ready-to-drink beverages that mostly took on flavors from these other ingredients versus taking on flavors from their main components.

Shroomi’s pre-ground coffee with lion’s mane, chaga and reishi extracts was the easiest to prepare among these, with any method (pour-over, drip machine or French press) producing only faint mushroom notes; and cost $17 per bag! Most other mushroom coffees I tested either came as kits that included coffee grinder and frother, or instant latte mixes that cost approximately the same as organic ground coffee from your grocery store.

Quince

Quince is a direct-to-consumer brand catering to modern millennials with its utilitarian web store and wide variety of urbane yet unflashy fashions. Expanding into functional mushroom coffee seems like the next logical step for this San Francisco company.

Mushroom Coffee from the company is specially formulated with 48mg of caffeine per serving and includes lion’s mane, reishi, cordyceps, chaga and turkey tail mushrooms along with Mexican Arabica coffee for an uplifting yet relaxing cup. L-theanine provides steady energy release through L-theanine to balance out this low dose.

As with other Quince supplements, Mushroom Coffee is third-party tested and free from preservatives, fillers, GMOs and the top 12 allergens. I found that it dissolving quickly in hot beverages or smoothies as well as slightly clumping with colder waters – however a quick whisk or small frother was usually enough to solve this issue quickly.

Quince is still relatively new to the supplement industry, but their approach to product design and branding has proven highly successful. They cut out middlemen and markups so as to offer products at fraction of luxury brand prices; their supplements are specifically priced well while still being free from preservatives, fillers and GMOs – as are their collagen peptides which I found neutral-tasting for everyday smoothies and coffee consumption; plant protein is smooth without artificial flavors while greens powder offers earthier tastes than comparable premium options such as AG1.

Four Sigmatic

This company produces an assortment of mushroom-infused products, from instant latte mixes and capsules to other dietary supplements. Their flagship product, ground coffee made with chaga and lion’s mane mushrooms for increased focus, offers numerous specialty blends that offer stress relief, mood enhancement, gut support, immunity enhancement or immune system bolstering properties; there’s even an organic whole bean version which is gluten-free, vegan and keto friendly for your convenience.

Tero Isokauppila, a Finnish-American bohos, had the foresight to market mushroom coffee to Angelenos willing to disregard science. Growing up on a family farm and foraging mushrooms only reinforced his belief in them as superfoods; hence the brand name which refers to mushrooms being four notches higher on nutritional charts than traditional superfoods.

Four Sigmatic stands apart from other mushroom coffee brands by only using high-grade organic fruiting bodies from carefully chosen farms in the US – this ensures their ingredients remain pure and potency, something uncommonly noticeable in this industry dominated by marketing hype.

Four Sigmatic’s charitable work is another feature we appreciate, with their donations to medicinal mushroom boxes for cancer patients constituting 10% of profits set aside each year as an increase for this cause.