Is Mushroom Coffee More Nutritious Than Regular Coffee?

It seems that every few years, there's a new trendy type of coffee to try, including bulletproof coffee, Scandinavian coffee, and Dalgona whipped coffee, with various claims of health, taste, or other benefits. Well, the latest trend, if social media feeds are any indication, is mushroom coffee. You've probably seen a post or an ad about it recently. You may have even tried it, or at least know someone who has.

Mushroom coffee is exactly what it sounds like, coffee with mushroom. There aren't actually pieces of mushroom floating in the brew. Instead, medicinal mushrooms like Chaga, Lion's mane, Reishi, Cordyceps, and Turkey's tail are extracted and made into a powder, which is then combined with ground coffee beans, often at a one to one ratio, explains Healthline. Mushroom coffee is prepared the same way as regular coffee, and can be enjoyed in all the ways that regular coffee is enjoyed, including black, latte, mocha, and more, with a taste that many say is very similar to that of coffee, reports Coffee Affection. What sets mushroom coffee apart are the many supposed health benefits.

Proponents of mushroom coffee argue that the trendy brew offers a slew of health benefits, including that it can help improve immunity, fight ulcers and cancers, help with food allergies, reduce the risk of heart disease, (via Healthline), improve memory, reduce stress, relax sore muscles, reduce inflammation, and lead to better sleep (per Cleveland Clinic).

Since mushrooms don't contain any caffeine, mushroom coffee contains less caffeine than regular coffee, which is good news for those with caffeine sensitivities, and could lead to better sleep. Mushrooms are known to contain beneficial nutrients like vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, polyphenols, and antioxidants, according to WebMD. However, it's unclear whether these same benefits apply to mushroom extract, which is what mushroom coffee contains.

And while medicinal mushroom extracts do contain adaptogens, which may improve stress response along with other health benefits, very few studies that back up the claims have included humans, notes Healthline. Moreover, none of the studies have been on mushroom coffee itself, and it's unclear what effects, either positive or negative, come from combining mushroom extracts and coffee beans. So, continue to enjoy your mushroom coffee if you like the taste and how it makes you feel. But take those health and nutritional claims with a grain of salt.