Danielle Ryan Broida
Mushroom coffees are generating a serious buzz. But medicinal mushrooms and mushroom teas have been used for thousands of years.
But are fungi right for you? There’s still a lot of confusion. That’s why I interviewed Registered Herbalist Danielle Ryan Broida. She’s the National Educator at Four Sigmatic, one of the most popular makers of functional mushroom products.
Read on to discover the best mushroom coffees from a variety of brands.
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1. Best For Mental Energy Without the Crash: Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee with Lion’s Mane and Chaga (30 Packets Total)
Pros:- Contains Lion's Mane, which research shows can support brain function
- Made by Four Sigmatic, which is known as the best 'functional mushroom' company (see review for reasons)
- Delicious (I tried it, and it tastes like quality coffee)
- Affordable
- Single-serving packets of instant coffee mix are very easy to use
Cons:- Instant coffee isn't designed to be brewed using your normal brewing method (but see ground coffee/Keurig cups below!)
- Half the caffeine of normal coffee
- You may never go back to normal coffee
The Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee with Lion’s Mane and Chaga stands out because it’s designed to support focus and productivity.
It’s also delicious. It tastes like high-quality coffee.
And it’s incredibly easy to use. Just mix a single-serving packet into hot water. Or maybe almond milk, over ice. Or a smoothie. Or literally anything — the mushrooms are already extracted, so you don’t need hot water to reap their benefits.
And it’s made by Four Sigmatic, which is widely considered the best “functional mushroom” company out there.
‘Functional mushrooms’ is the new technical term used to describe these species of fungi.
“We call them functional mushrooms,” says Four Sigmatic National Educator Danielle Ryan Broida, “because some people may associate ‘medicinal mushrooms’ with psychedelics, similar to how people associate ‘medicinal herb’ with marijuana.”
Just to clarify: These mushrooms are not psychedelic. This coffee will not get you high.
It will, however, help you focus and work productively. If you need to finish that paper, or return a million emails, or file your taxes, or write your masterpiece, this is the coffee for you.
According to the National Institutes of Health, Lion’s Mane mushroom extract has “neurotrophic” properties. It helps your neurons grow. Which is pretty neat, because neurons are literally the cells we use to think. Neurons are the cells that carry information around our brains and bodies.
In layman’s terms, this means you can think of Lion’s Mane “like a hug for your brain”, Danielle tells me.
(For the sake of transparency: Danielle and I live in the same town, and we often run into each other at awesome parties. But I have no other relationship to Four Sigmatic. Other than being a fan.)
This blend is Four Sigmatic’s best-seller. Thanks to the immune-supporting benefits and delicious flavor, the company have what could be described as a cult following.
Find more Four Sigmatic Coffee with Lion's Mane and Chaga (30) information and reviews here.
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2. Best Adaptogen-Packed Coffee Alternative: Rasa Herbal Coffee Alternative
Pros:- Contains the most adaptogens of any coffee alternative on the market
- Easy to brew in a french press, and absolutely delicious (I tried it)
- Contains Reishi and Chaga in addition to 12 herbs to formulated to decrease stress, improve mood, boost immune support, and other benefits
- Fully committed to sustainability
Cons:- Somewhat expensive (but contains 30 servings)
- You need a french press, or some appliance with pressure (an espresso machine will work!)
- Their Chaga is derived from mycelium, not fruiting bodies
Rasa’s Coffee Alternatives are delicious, easy to brew, and packed with more adaptogens than any other coffee alternative on the market.
Formulated by a busy mom working with an herbalist, Rasa contains 12 herbs, 7 adaptogens, and 2 mushrooms: Reishi and Chaga.
Reishi, known as the “chill” medicinal mushroom, helps combat the jitters and anxiety that can accompany drinking coffee. Plus, Reishi and Chaga provide powerful immune support, among other benefits.
Rasa also contains ashwagandha, an adaptogenic herb believed to lead to a healthier stress response. According to Rasa, their blend “works on the brain and nervous system together, so you freak out slower and less often.”
You can easily brew it in a french press. But if you’re more of an espresso machine or Keurig person, that works, too. (You just need some pressure, to squeeze out all that adaptogenic goodness.)
Full Disclosure: I received a free sample to test out. And it was amazing! I brewed it in a french press, and it was absolutely delicious. I skipped my normal morning espresso, and still had, as Rasa puts it, “gentle all-day energy,” without the crash.
It was so delicious, I didn’t even reach for my usual non-dairy milk. The flavor didn’t seem to call out for creaminess, the way coffee always does.
I drank it for several days, and didn’t even miss my espresso. (Rasa suggests drinking their blends for several days in a row, because adaptogens and functional mushrooms work best with continued use.)
And now, after using all 30 servings, I’ll probably need to order more ASAP.
Find more Rasa Herbal Coffee Alternative information and reviews here.
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3. Best for Crushing Your Workout *And* Supporting Your Immune System: Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee with Cordyceps and Chaga (30 Packets Total)
Pros:- Contains Cordyceps, which research shows can improve athletic performance and exercise ability
- Made by Four Sigmatic, which is known as the best 'functional mushroom' company (see review for reasons)
- Delicious (I tried it, and it tastes like quality coffee)
Cons:- Instant coffee isn't designed to be brewed using your normal brewing method (but see ground coffee/Keurig cups below!)
- Half the caffeine of normal coffee
- You may never go back to normal coffee
The Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee Mix with Cordyceps and Chaga stands out because it adheres to same rigorous quality standards of all Four Sigmatic products (more on that later) — but this recipe includes Cordyceps, as well as Chaga.
This Cordyceps coffee blend is designed to support physical energy (instead of your mental energy, like the blend reviewed above).
Almost all Four Sigmatic coffee mixes include Chaga, because it’s an overall immune-support powerhouse.
When Danielle explained Four Sigmatic’s approach to their mushroom formulation, she broke it down into easy-to-understand terms.
“Our philosophy is all about elevating people’s routines,” she said. “So we make these products that are really easy to incorporate into your routine, at different times of the day.”
Basically, the different products are designed to help you either “think, chill, or protect,” she said. (And the “protection” is mostly referring to your immune system.)
Maybe I looked perplexed. She put into terms more suited to my background.
“So think of it like uppers, downers, and general-wellbeing,” she said.
Got it.
In this intro-level way of looking at functional mushrooms, the uppers include Lion’s Mane and cordyceps. But these species can help us feel “up” in different ways.
Experts say cordyceps can boost oxygen uptake, which has made cordyceps a favorite among athletes.
Basically, where the Lion’s Mane blend listed above s formulated to help support mental energy, this Cordyceps coffee blend is designed to support physical energy, Danielle explained.
The Chaga, meanwhile, will be protecting your immune system — no matter what kind of help it needs.
That’s because Chaga is an adaptogen, Danielle told me.
Chaga’s benefits were actually a large part of the reason she joined Four Sigmatic in the first place.
“This is the first time I’ve worked with a brand,” she said. Previously, in her own clinical practice, she’d been working with clients through herbs and nutrition — but many of her clients were struggling with autoimmune disorders. For people with these disorders (whose immune system has gone into overdrive and begun attacking itself), very few herbs are both safe and effective.
Chaga can help — and for Danielle’s clients, Four Sigmatic products were part of the solution.
But it’s not just about Chaga as a species, Danielle said. The sourcing of the Chaga carries critical importance. That’s because mushrooms convert compounds from their growing medium into food. So whether they’re growing on soil (or, more commonly for functional mushrooms, the bark of a tree), it matters what your mushrooms have “eaten.” Mushrooms, like humans, “are what they eat,” Danielle says.
Four Sigmatic sources their Chaga from birch trees in Siberia — where the Chaga grows naturally, and “eats” the same compounds it has for millennia.
Want to supercharge your morning cup of coffee even more? Check out our guide to the best collagen drinks, for supplements you can mix into your coffee for even more wellness.
Find more Four Sigmatic Coffee Cordyceps and Chaga (30 Packets) information and reviews here.
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4. Best For Brewing Any Way You Normally Brew Your Java: Four Sigmatic Dark Roast Ground Coffee with Lion’s Mane and Chaga (12 Ounce)
Pros:- Can be brewed any way your normally brew your coffee (even Keurig!)
- Made by Four Sigmatic, which is known as the best 'functional mushroom' company (see review for reasons)
- Their ground coffee contains same level of caffeine as normal coffee (while packets contain half the caffeine)
- Still easier on your stomach than normal coffee, due to adaptogenic mushrooms
- Contains Lion's Mane, which studies show can support brain function
- Also contains Chaga, which studies show can help modulate your immune system
Cons:- Not quite as easy as single-serving instant coffee packets above
- You'll need a brewing setup of some kind to brew this (don't just mix with hot water!)
- Due to FDA regulations, it can be hard for these companies to make specific claims about the benefits
This Four Sigmatic Ground Coffee with Lions Mane and Chaga stands out because you can brew it as you would normal coffee.
Are you a pour-over person? A cold-brew convert? An espresso addict?
That’s cool. You can enjoy mushroom coffee too.
The company realized, Danielle explained, that not everyone loves the concept of instant coffee. Some of us are set in our ways, our morning rituals. Some of us love our countertop espresso machines. Others enjoy the process of making a pour-over.
So Four Sigmatic created this blend, which you can brew any way you choose.
The resulting cup of coffee tastes like coffee. (I’ve used it in an espresso machine, and it doesn’t make my morning latte taste any different.)
It doesn’t have the “umami” flavor typically associated with mushrooms. (But if you’re into the umami mushroom flavor, here’s where to buy truffles online now.)
The lack of umami flavor in the coffee is by design. In 2012, when the company’s Finnish founders were contemplating how to help people to reap the benefits of functional mushrooms, they considered how to make mushrooms — and their flavor — more approachable.
“What bitter flavors does the Western world know and love? Basically, coffee and chocolate,” Danielle summarized.
She pointed out one major difference between the ground coffee and the coffee packets: The ground coffee contains full caffeine, just like normal coffee, about 100 mg per cup. (The coffee packets contain “half the caffeine, twice the benefits” of normal coffee, as Four Sigmatic acolytes like to say.)
“We realized that some people really want their full dose of caffeine,” Danielle said.
With this full-caff version, although you’re consuming a normal amount of caffeine, you may find it less likely to induce the “crash” associated with normal coffee.
That’s because these mushrooms are adaptogens, Danielle explained.
“Adaptogens help our bodies adapt to internal and external stressors,” she said. “Thanks to their grounding and nourishing effect on the body, you actually skip the crash and jitters that come with your typical cup of coffee.”
Find more Four Sigmatic Mushroom Ground Coffee (12 Ounce) information and reviews here.
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5. Best Coffee With All Four Major Medicinal Mushrooms: Sun Alchemy Mushroom Coffee
Pros:- Includes all four types of major medicinal mushrooms (Chaga, Reishi, Cordyceps, & Lion's Mane)
- Sun Alchemy product description says they use the fruiting bodies of the mushrooms (many companies today only use the mycelium)
- All the mushrooms are dual-extracted (required to break down chitin in cell walls, making the compounds in mushrooms digestible)
- Includes 12 easy-to-use instant-coffee packets
- Reviewers mostly like the taste
- Affordable (similar prace per packet as Four Sigmatic)
Cons:- Several reviewers said the flavor was too bitter
- Less clear where Sun Alchemy sources their mushrooms
- Instant coffee cannot be brewed using your normal coffee-brewing ritual
This Sun Alchemy Coffee with Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Chaga & Cordyceps Mushrooms stands out because it includes all four of the major medicinal mushrooms. If you can’t decide which benefits you need most — Immune support! Brain function! Physical energy! Healthy stress response! — this could be the coffee for you.
This comes with 12 packets, each with a serving of high-quality instant coffee, with 50 grams of caffeine. After hearing so much about Four Sigmatic’s rigorous sourcing standards and quality control lab testing, it was hard to recommend another brand.
But Sun Alchemy’s coffee is made with the mushrooms’ “fruiting bodies,” which I’d learned was pretty important.
When you’re choosing your functional mushroom brand, you want to make sure the company uses the “fruiting bodies” of the mushroom species.
You might be wondering: What the heck is a fruiting body?
Fruiting bodies are just one part of the mushroom: the part that grows above the surface.
Another part, called “mycelium,” grows below the surface, as a barely-visible network of cells.
“In the last 10 to 20 years, we’ve seen a growing trend of using mycelium in functional mushroom products, instead of the fruiting body,” Danielle explained.
Mycelium can be grown in a lab, on a medium like rice or oat. This allows companies to cut costs. They simply grind up the growing medium and the mycelium, and put it in their products. There’s no way to know how much of the mushroom is in there — or how much is just the substrate it was grown on.
Today, many companies only use mycelium, Danielle told me. These companies can still advertise their products as containing the same species — without ever using the fruiting bodies.
But research shows that the fruiting bodies contain much higher concentrations of the beneficial compounds (called beta-glucans and terpenes). So while a competing product could be marketed similarly (1500mg of reishi!), it wouldn’t necessarily provide the same benefits.
This is a major problem in the world of functional mushrooms. It’s frustrating to experts like Danielle.
“I hate it because I’ll hear people say, ‘I tried a functional mushroom product and it didn’t do anything for me,’” she said. “And it’s possible that the product they tried was either myceliated grain that hadn’t been extracted.”
In that case, the person wouldn’t have absorbed any of the mushroom’s beneficial compounds.
So in this list of the best mushroom teas, we’ve only included companies that use fruiting bodies, like Sun Alchemy.
And all their mushrooms in this coffee blend are “dual extracted.” (This is the other important thing to look for when choosing your functional mushroom company. For more on the importance of dual extraction, check out our guide to mushroom teas.)
These are approximately the same price as the Four Sigmatic coffee packets reviewed above.
Find more Sun Alchemy Mushroom Coffee information and reviews here.
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6. Best for Tailoring Your Coffee’s Effects to Your To-Do List: Four Sigmatic Mix Pack (10 Packets Lion’s Mane, 10 Packets Cordyceps)
Pros:- Includes 10 packets each of both of Four Sigmatic's most popular coffee blend (Lion's Mane + Chaga & Cordyceps + Chaga)
- Lion's Mane recipe formulated to support mental energy; Cordyceps blend, for physical energy
- Both blends contain Chaga, an antioxidant-packed superfood research suggests can support healthy immune function
Cons:- Could be hard to choose which blend is right for your day (What if you have to exercise *and* focus?)
- Instant coffee doesn't fit seamlessly into everyone's existing coffee ritual (What if you love your french press?)
- Half the caffeine of normal coffee (problematic if you have a caffeine addiction)
The perfect pack for the indecisive person, or the person who wants to try a variety of ingredients. The Four Sigmatic Coffee Mix Pack with Both Blends (Lion’s Mane + Chaga & Cordyceps + Chaga) gives you the best of both worlds — because it contains both of the company’s best-loved mushroom coffees.
When Danielle simplified her advanced mycology knowledge for a normal coffee lover like me, she explained that — while Lion’s Mane and Cordyceps both provide energy — the Lion’s Mane blend is designed to support mental energy, while the Cordyceps coffee is designed to support physical energy.
With this mix pack, you can tailor your coffee’s effects to your to-do list.
Got a bunch of chores and yard work to do? Cordyceps coffee day.
Trying to finish that article? Lion’s Mane.
Training for a marathon? Back to the Cordyceps blend!
Find more Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee Mix Pack of 2 information and reviews here.
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7. Best for Taking All Your Mushrooms at Once: La Republica Organic 7 Mushroom Coffee Blend
Pros:- Includes seven of the functional mushrooms for wide-ranging benefits
- This company only uses fruting bodies, never mycelium or fillers
- Includes 15 servings, so it's pretty affordable
- Fair Trade Arabica coffee
Cons:- Less caffeine than normal coffee (but caffeine reduced using chemical-free process!)
- Reviewer mentioned lack of tamper-evident seal
- Servings are not individually packaged like the packets reviewed above
This Seven Mushroom Coffee Blend stands out because it includes seven of the functional mushrooms, including Chaga, Maitake, Cordyceps, Shiitake, Lion’s Mane, Turkey Tail, and Reishi.
So it should basically help with everything. The company only uses fruiting body extract, and never uses mycelium, fillers, or grain.
Their mushrooms are grown on wood in greenhouses on rural farms in Asia.
And they only use fair-trade Arabica coffee.
There are about 15 servings per container. It doesn’t contain as much caffeine as most coffee (about 60 mg caffeine per serving).
Find more Forager Organic 7 Mushroom Coffee Blend information and reviews here.
What does mushroom coffee taste like?
It tastes like coffee! (Actually, the Rasa Coffee Alternative reviewed above might taste slightly better than coffee. And that's coming from an espresso fiend!)
Mushrooms are known for their "umami" flavor, which is considered earthy and bitter. That's why they pair so perfectly with coffee, a bitter flavor that's already beloved in the Western world.
Is mushroom coffee healthy?
Yes! Mushrooms have been used since ancient civilizations for their wellness benefits. They can support the immune system, nervous system, digestion, and even your mood.
Which mushroom coffee is best for me?
That depends what you want your coffee to do. All of these mushroom coffees contain Chaga, the mushroom most proven to provide immune support, among other benefits. Beyond Chaga, each medicinal mushroom can provide more specific wellness benefits. To find the mushroom coffee that's tailored to your needs, check out the reviews above!
Is mushroom coffee less acidic than traditional coffee?
These should all be easier on your stomach than traditional coffee, because the alkaline nature of the mushrooms can balance coffee's natural acidity in the gut.
What if I need more alternative mushrooms?
Check out our guide to set up a mushroom grow tent at home, and harvest your own mushrooms.