A couple of years ago, someone offered me a sample of mushroom coffee at a farmers market. “Is it coffee with mushrooms in it?” I asked. No, the vendor explained—it was “coffee” made entirely of mushrooms. I took one sip and immediately wondered whether I was, in fact, drinking diluted mud.
Fortunately, not all mushroom coffee tastes like this. Some blends contain actual coffee along with functional mushrooms like lion's mane and chaga; others mix mushroom extracts with adaptogens, probiotics, and nootropics. A few of them even taste close to the real thing.
Mushroom coffee also tends to be a lot pricier than your average bag of beans. So if you’ve been curious about the trend but haven’t wanted to commit at full price, Prime Day is a good time to experiment. WIRED reviewer Pete Cottell has spent years testing mushroom coffees ranging from genuinely enjoyable to “a mix of Chex Mix and bong water,” and these are the discounted picks that earned his recommendation.
Also be sure to browse our roundup of the Absolute Best Prime Day Deals.
Laird Superfood
This is one of the better mushroom blends Pete tried—it's actual coffee beans with added lion's mane for brain health and rhodiola for stress relief, and he rated it an extremely solid 8.6 out of 10. Sure, the taste was on par with preground medium-roast grocery store coffee, but things could have been worse. Much worse. He also enjoyed the companion protein creamer, which usually runs around $20.
Amazon (12 oz. whole bean)
Target (10 oz. ground)
Four Sigmatic's mushroom coffee is unique in that it's a dark roast—most coffee-based blends are medium roast. Pete also appreciated the lack of a cigarette-butts-and-bowling-alley aftertaste, describing Four Sigmatic as “a hug from an old friend after weeks of sipping murky silt.” This one packs lion's mane and chaga for mental clarity and energy.
Pete is a gas-station coffee aficionado, and this powder reminded him of his favorite Sheetz concoction—which happens to be mostly “vanilla latte” dispensed by one of the push-button machines—in the best possible way. It's lightly sweet and fairly low on caffeine (22 milligrams; a typical cup of coffee is 95 milligrams), plus it packs probiotics and magnesium in with its ashwagandha and lion's mane.
“Inoffensive” is more of a compliment than you might think for a mushroom coffee, especially one in dissolvable powder form. Pete thought this blend, packed with lion’s mane, ashwagandha, and cordyceps, offered a solid coffeelike experience, with the powder dissolving fully and leaving minimal to no sediment.
Source: Wired
