Mushroom coffee is having a moment, but it has a history all the way back to World War II when Finnish people used native chaga mushrooms as an alternative to coffee, a hot commodity during wartime. Four Sigmatic, one of the most well-known mushroom coffee purveyors with Finnish founders, put it back on the map in 2012 and we’ve seen overflowing cups of fungus all over Instagram ever since. Lucky for us, it has a whole host of mental and physical benefits (and, sorry to say, hallucination is not one of them).
There is a clear difference between the wartime chaga and blends made by brands like Four Sigmatic and MudWtr that combine different types of mushroom extracts for a cozy cup. Here’s a breakdown of the medicinal mushrooms most often used in the alternative coffee.
Four Sigmatic, one of the best-known mushroom coffee producers with Finnish founders, placed it back on the map in 2012, and ever then, Instagram has been flooded with photos of overflowing cups of fungus. Fortunately, it offers a wide range of psychological and physical advantages (and, sorry to say, hallucination is not one of them).
Wartime chaga and blends created by companies like Four Sigmatic and MudWtr that combine various mushroom extracts for a warm cup are clearly different. Below is a list of the medicinal mushrooms that are most frequently used in the substitute coffee. These tiny powerhouses have a lot of health-improving qualities, and they might persuade you to incorporate mushroom coffee into your morning routine.
Mushroom coffee can be made with or without coffee, and even without its caffeine counterpart, it can be used to support athletic performance, energy, and stamina. Many types of mushrooms support a rise in energy, but the star of this fungus show is Cordyceps, or the “Olympic mushroom.” A famous story broke in 1993 as members of the Chinese women’s Olympic running team surpassed numerous world records at the Beijing national games.
The women were accused of doping, and the team was tested for banned substances, and surprisingly, none were found. The athletes credited a cordyceps elixir for their above-average performance and incredible success! Cordyceps have been shown to boost ATP, adenosine triphosphate, the source of energy that keeps everything going in the body, and helps deliver oxygen to all areas of the body, reducing muscle fatigue, and supporting stamina.
