r/MushroomCoffee

In my experience, almost every mushroom coffee on the market is built on the idea of:

• Less Caffeine. Not none, just less, usually around half a regular cup. Most of us were overdoing it anyway, I definitely was;
• A couple of grams of Mushroom Extract. This is the part that's supposed to take the edge off the caffeine and give you something back on top of it - better focus, less of a crash. Usually four names show up on the label - Lion's Mane, Chaga, Cordyceps, Reishi;
• Sometimes other stuff. Protein in various forms, or L-theanine which is there specifically to smooth out that sudden caffeine hit.

How it tastes

Most brands have a similarly earthy flavor, somewhat reminiscent of pu-erh or black tea in the aftertaste. It all depends on whether mycelium or other flavorings were added.

Based on my experience some brands seem to intentionally make the flavor as mushroom-like as possible, as if you were drinking mushroom soup, like Ryze does, in my honest opinion. While others, in turn, try to make the flavor as similar as possible to regular coffee, that is, to get rid of the aftertaste, as with Everyday Dose, for example. The choice is entirely up to you.

What are the effects from mushroom coffee?

To describe the effects of each mushroom, it would be best to write a separate post, ideally, one for each mushroom. But in a sentence:

• You reach your peak of alertness more easily than with regular coffee and you come down just as easily without a sudden crash;
• Less hand tremors and anxiety, but I only notice this when combined with L-theanine;
• It's gentler on the stomach, I haven't noticed a difference myself, but people with stomach issues including my friends have always pointed this out;
• It has a more positive effect on sleep, although this is largely due to the lower caffeine dose;
• There's less brain fog, this is mostly due to Lion's Mane;
• A more stable and positive mood with long-term use, I attribute this to the absence of anxiety that I get from regular coffee.

More research, and things like its positive effects on the immune system perhaps I or someone else will cover these in other posts.

What mushroom coffee definitely doesn't do:

• First and foremost, it doesn't work instantly, to fully experience its cumulative effects, it takes 2, but ideally 3-4 weeks;
• Mushrooms in coffee don't cure any diseases, it can help strengthen the immune system, but that's all;
• It is not a substitute for any medications including those for ADHD;
• It doesn't put you in that "high" or trance-like state; Lion's Mane can help with that, but not in this form.

In conclusion I'd like to say that I haven't debunked all the myths or covered all the benefits based on research, but now at least many people will understand what mushroom coffee is all about

I got into this because I could never find out what was actually in the stuff I was drinking. One bag says "2,000mg mushroom blend" and won't tell you if that's 1,900mg of the cheap one and a pinch of everything else. Another one won't say whether it's fruiting body or mycelium grown on grain. I ended up building the thing I wanted to buy, every species, every milligram, printed on the front of the bag.

But before I get too into it, I want to hear from people who actually drink this stuff daily:

What brands do you rate, and what made you stay?

What made you quit one?

Does anyone actually check doses, or is that just my obsession?

And does taste beat transparency for you? Because most of the category tastes like the mushrooms are winning.
(https://brewlune.com/)