Mushroom Coffee Brands Ranked Worst To Best

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

According to a study published by The Journal of Nutrition, coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the U.S., with roughly 154 million adults, or 75% of the population, consuming it daily. That said, more individuals are opting for natural drinks that give you the same boost as coffee for a number of reasons, including minimizing gastrointestinal issues associated with drinking it and helping to manage anxiety more effectively.

Among the lower-caffeine coffee alternatives that have been gaining traction are mushroom coffees. While not completely void of coffee, mushroom coffee is made by combining instant coffee powder with a variety of medicinal mushrooms, such as chaga, reishi, cordyceps, and lion's mane, which are purported to have a host of health benefits, ranging from improved focus and digestion to the reduction of inflammation and stress.

As someone who is highly sensitive to coffee, I have long been searching for an alternative that could help give me that boost of energy and delicious flavor without the side effects of a cup of full-strength Joe. I became fungi-curious about six months ago and started delving into mushroom coffee in earnest, thinking it might help improve my overall health if I could find one that I thought tasted good enough for me to drink on a regular basis. I have sampled a wide cross-section of these powders to determine which is the most palatable and seems to deliver on its promises. Read on to discover the full scoop.

Ranking last on this list of mushroom coffees I sampled was the variety from Ten Mushrooms Coffee. I tried the Boost Your Energy blend, which is made using ten distinct types of mushrooms, including chaga, reishi, lion's mane, maitake, shiitake, cordyceps, turkey tail, king trumpet, willow bracket, and agaricus blazei. These are combined with a fair trade, medium-roast, instant Arabica coffee.

Each one teaspoon serving, which is intended to be mixed with 5-8 fluid ounces of hot water (I used 8), includes 500 milligrams of fruiting mushroom bodies, which are designed to boost energy, mental focus, immune support, and creativity without the jitters or the acid of a regular cup of Joe. While I didn't have any gastrointestinal issues from this mushroom coffee, I also didn't notice much of an energy boost or huge impact on my focus.

This coffee had a very powdery texture that was relatively easy to blend together with the hot water, which gave it a pleasant enough mouthfeel. The aroma of the dry powder is quite coffee forward and earthy, but the moment I added the hot water, it smelled almost like mushroom soup, which isn't altogether bad, but wasn't what I was hoping for. The taste of this mushroom coffee was exceedingly bitter, grassy, and had an unpleasant dirt-like aftertaste that lingered forever. No amount of creamer or sweetener would make this a habit I would want to stick with on a regular basis.

The second to last mushroom coffee on this ranking is actually the first one I ever tried many months ago, Ryze. This mushroom coffee has an impressive social media profile complete with celebrity endorsements that made it really hard to ignore. While I was impressed with its seemingly bougie profile, I was unimpressed with the overall flavor and quality of the mushroom coffee itself.

This brand is made from a blend of organic mushrooms grown in the U.S. The types included are cordyceps, lion's mane, reishi, shiitake, turkey tail, and king trumpet. These are combined with organic Arabica coffee, MCT oil (which is typically derived from coconuts), and coconut milk. Each serving, which is intended to be measured out with a small wooden spoon provided by the brand, contains 2,000 milligrams of high-potency mushrooms and is intended to be combined with 8-10 ounces of hot water (I used 8).

This dry blend resembled the texture and color of instant hot cocoa. Its aroma was distinctly that of coconuts until hot water was added, upon which strong, fungal, shiitake mushroom notes emerged. Even after blending this mushroom coffee quite well, its texture remained somewhat gritty, and there was a distinctive greasy, oily mouthfeel that unpleasantly coated my tongue. The taste was quite bitter, even with creamer, though some nuttiness was present from the coconut. I did note that I felt quite jittery after drinking this mushroom coffee and had a little bit of gastrointestinal discomfort that left me craving a cup of coffee.

Pella Nutrition mushroom coffee blend contains organically-sourced, medium-roast Arabica coffee, which is mixed with lion's mane, turkey tail, reishi, chaga, cordyceps, maitake, and shiitake mushrooms. One scooper full, which comes inside of the package, is intended to be combined with 8 fluid ounces of hot water and contains 1,500 milligrams of beta-glucan-rich mushrooms, which are designed to improve energy, focus, and digestive health.

The consistency of this mushroom coffee was like a super soft powder. Its aroma in dry format was similar to any instant coffee I have ever had, but nothing to write home about. Though the smell improved somewhat when hot water was added, it still was pretty mild, with slightly earthy, nutty coffee notes and no mushroom ones anywhere to be found.

Its flavor, though not unpleasant, wasn't all that exciting. It was mildly bitter with a hint of mushroom, but not enough to overwhelm the coffee. It basically had the taste of a cup of Joe that was very weakly brewed. While I did feel like I had a decent amount of energy without the jitters and zero issues with my sensitive stomach after drinking this mushroom coffee, I wasn't overly enamored with it.

Rowdy Knights Club Mushroom Complex ranked towards the middle of the pack. Each 2,000-milligram serving of organic functional mushrooms contains cordyceps, lion's mane, reishi, maitake, turkey tail, and chaga blended with instant coffee. The serving size is one tablespoon mixed into 8 ounces of hot water. The purported benefits of this mushroom coffee include improved energy, gut health, focus, and immunity.

This was another one that had a distinctive powdery texture that blended together smoothly with the hot water. The aroma was very much that of instant coffee, but with a notable sweetness in the background that was perhaps just slightly more pleasant than a few of the others. When the hot water was added, I was struck by the fact that this blend seemed foamier than the others, even though I didn't blend it any more vigorously.

Though the appearance of the coffee was rather unimpressive, more like brown water than a strong brew, the flavor was intensely bitter, like a strong espresso. Though this isn't my personal preference for coffee, I know plenty of people who like a strong brew who would find this robust flavor appealing, which is why I ranked it where I did. When diluted with some creamer, the bitterness was tempered somewhat, and I could enjoy it. I found that I was not jittery, nor did I have any stomach issues with this brand, but it also didn't give me a discernible boost of focus or energy.

Landing just outside of the top three on this ranking of mushroom coffees was Yege Mushroom Coffee. This blend contains six adaptogenic mushrooms, including cordyceps, reishi, lion's mane, shiitake, turkey tail, and king trumpet. These are mixed with Arabica coffee, MCT oil, and coconut milk. Each one-tablespoon serving contains 2,000 milligrams of active mushroom blend and can be combined with 6-10 fluid ounces of water (I used 8).

Purported benefits of this mushroom coffee include improved energy and stamina, better cognitive function, enhanced immune system, increased mental clarity, and a better capacity to handle stress without any gastrointestinal discomfort. While I wouldn't say it was magical, as none of these mushrooms have psychedelic properties, I did feel shockingly bright, alert, and fresh after drinking this brew, perhaps more so than with any of the others I sampled.

The aroma of the dry powder, which looked like instant hot cocoa, was dominated by coconut. The hot water released earthy mushroom notes that were pleasant and not overwhelming. Its taste was pleasant, nutty, mildly bitter, and very earthy. This mushroom coffee seemed to get better and better as I allowed it to sit and sipped on it slowly. It is the only one I could easily drink without any sweetener or creamer and be fully satisfied, even though it wasn't necessarily my favorite of the bunch.

The third runner-up for mushroom coffee brands was Four Sigmatic. This brand produces a number of varieties of mushroom coffee. The one I sampled was the Focus Instant Coffee, which comes in convenient individual packet servings that are intended to be mixed with 8 fluid ounces of hot water. As far as ease-of-use goes, this product is a winner. It doesn't require any scooping or special equipment, and it is portable, which are all wins.

The mushrooms in this blend include 250 milligrams each of organic lion's mane and chaga, along with rhodiola extract and medium roast instant coffee. As advertised, the primary benefits of this coffee should be improved focus, sustained energy, and mood-boosting effects. I can say that I felt a pleasant, jitter-free energy boost from this product, but it wasn't life-changing.

This finely ground mushroom coffee powder had an assertive mushroom aroma that muted almost any coffee notes. It was quite earthy and almost dirt-like, which wasn't initially pleasant. That said, when mixed with hot water, the aroma and flavor transformed. The coffee was ever so delicately bitter, but not too fungal. This had a delightful fruity, almost perfume-like, taste that was super complex. While it benefited from creamer, it did not need any sweetener and had a really sophisticated taste that I quite enjoyed, though you could use any of these unique additions to give it a special boost of flavor.

The second-place runner-up in this ranking is the Latte Superblend from the Atlas brand. Calling this mushroom coffee alone would be a bit of an oversight. This product is designed to be an all-in-one supplement with probiotics, ashwagandha, lion's mane, reishi, cordyceps, l-theanine, collagen, prebiotics, vitamin D3, vitamin B12, and cassia cinnamon.

The complex aims to enhance digestion, reduce inflammation, boost immunity, and support metabolic health. While I cannot speak to its long-term effects, I can say that I had a good amount of energy and a decent mood for a few hours after drinking this blend. That said, I also had some gastrointestinal discomfort, which in hindsight was likely attributable to the coconut milk included, to which I am mildly sensitive.

The texture of the dry mix appeared more granular than powdery, but it had a dynamite smell, like that of sweetened, shredded coconut as opposed to coconut flakes. Once the hot water was added, the smell transformed to be more like a mushroomy café latté. The taste was bittersweet and pleasant with distinctive coconut notes.

Perhaps my only issue with this blend was the rather ambiguous measurements, which suggested adding two scoops into 4-5 ounces of hot water or 3-4 scoops into 6-7 ounces of hot water. The math didn't seem to add up, nor was this a very accurate measurement for a "supplement." That said, it was tasty, so I cannot complain.

The winner of "best mushroom coffee" in my estimation was the Atlas Coffee Superblend. Like the latté this is more of an all-in-one supplement than plain mushroom coffee, though it doesn't contain the coconut milk and sugar that seemed to give me some tummy troubles. I just had a good amount of energy and felt like it lasted all day.

Though the instructions for this coffee were also a bit arbitrary, they were a little less confusing, with the packaging suggesting 1-2 scoops for 4-7 ounces of hot water. I did a single scoop in 7 ounces of water, which was plenty strong enough for my palate, though I still wonder about this product's efficacy when it comes to using it as a supplement.

The aroma of this mushroom coffee in dry form was the best of all of them. It just smelled like really good coffee. Again, the texture was more granular than powdery. When hot water was added, the aroma became earthy and almost peppery with an earthy, savory quality that was really pleasant. Its taste was robust and loaded with complex, grassy, umami-rich elements that were dynamite. As the beverage sat, the cassia cinnamon notes bloomed, infusing the drink with spicy undertones that were super palatable. This beverage was as satiating without creamer as it was with it. I gave it a solid A grade for taste.

My primary litmus test for sampling mushroom coffees was taste. One thing I learned attending "coffee university" at the boutique coffee shop I used to work at was how to "cup" coffee, meaning slurp it into my mouth to aerate it and bring the aromas and flavor into my nose and across all of my taste buds. I used this technique when sampling these mushroom coffees to give them a chance to fully pervade all of my senses.

I tasted these coffees individually, one per day, after preparing as instructed by the packaging directions. I mixed the coffee powder with hot, filtered water, which is the best kind to use for home-brewed beverages, using a hand-held, miniature frother, which many of the brands will send along with the proprietary blend. Once I tried the mushroom coffee black, I drank the rest prepared with plain oat milk, so that I would get a relatively uniform experience in terms of potential side effects. Any changes in energy or digestive issues noted are completely subjective and highly individual.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning that while I have sampled it as part of my experimentation with mushroom beverages, I did not include the popular brand MUDWTR in this ranking, as it isn't technically mushroom coffee, but more of a mushroom tea that is combined with chai-like spices and cacao. While it may have similar benefits, the overall taste profile is completely different from mushroom coffees that include instant coffee powder in the blend.