THE GREENEST SAYS:

Reviewing mushroom coffee alternatives takes a bit of getting used to. First, the whole premise is odd. You can’t drink coffee, so it’s time to brew up some mushrooms. OK, cool. We love new things that would freak out our grandmother. And we’re always up to learn how we can make our daily habits healthier. Second, you have brands that are called things like MUD\WTR. Are brands still dropping the vowels? Is that still a thing? Anyway, what about the actual product itself, you ask? Here we go. This MUD\WTR mushroom coffee alternative does almost everything right.

This coffee alternative contains some of the biggest names in medicinal mushrooms: Lion’s Mane, Chaga, Reishi and Cordyceps. All these have been used for centuries in Asian and Eastern European cultures to help support everything from the immune system and gut health, boost energy levels and just help you get your body in balance. Adaptogenic drinks are all the rage in a third of the world’s population. It has 1/7th the caffeine that a cup of coffee has, so it’s great for people who can’t handle coffee. If caffeine makes you go from jittery, sweating freak to lethargic dead-eyed zombie (with no in-between) then we highly recommend a mushroom coffee substitute. These are great ways to add a health boost to a daily ritual.

In fact, we recommend mushroom coffees to anyone

And MUD\WTR is a solid product that is 100% USDA Certified Organic, Certified Non-GMO, Certified Gluten-Free, Certified Vegan, Whole30 Approved & Certified Kosher. They have a ton of little icons to prove that they have tested and certified their products and manufacturing processes. Which always give us a big boost of confidence. It’s also sugar free.

Who’s a fungi and gives this product two thumbs up? Us! (Sorry.)

WHAT IS THIS MUD\WTR mushroom coffee alternative?

First off, yes, it’s pronounced Mud Water. If you try to order a “Mud reverse back slash wwtttrrr” your barista will be sad. Baristas are sad enough. Don’t make your barista sadder. There is no coffee in this, by the way. This is a mix of the mushrooms and adaptogens we mentioned up top, with black tea (masala chai to be specific), cacao, turmeric and cinnamon. The idea is that the lower amounts of caffeine keep your natural energy focus without the big crash.

Sidenote: Everyone is loving turmeric right now. Why? We think it’s because of a book called Blue Zones. This book went around to pockets of the world where larger-than-normal numbers of the population lived to be 100. And not a decrepit 100. Like, the can still talk and walk and remember where they left the remote 100. And while there were a few themes across all these populations, one of the takeaways was most of them used turmeric. Don’t hold us to that theory. This is a hunch we’ve had after reading that book.

OK, end of sidenote. You mix this with hot water, or oat milk or almond milk or or coconut milk or milk milk. (We can keep naming milks if you want.) In all seriousness, they recommend it with coconut milk and a MCT creamer. But you can mix it with any liquid and voila: mushroom coffee.

When you buy their start kit online it comes with a little frother. Which is cute.

Also Read: Is CBD Coffee Right For You? We Break It Down

Does this Use Fruiting Bodies or Mycelium? 

Mycelium. It’s not the end of the world, but we would really like to see them kick it up to fruiting bodies at some point in the future. If you don’t know a fruiting body from run-by fruiting, let us explain. (Extra points if you just got that Mrs. Doubtfire reference.)

The fruiting body of a mushroom is the part that grows above ground. And there’s a lot of evidence that say that’s where the highest concentration of antioxidants and other adaptogens that make everyone go ga-ga for medicinal mushrooms. It’s also more expensive to harvest. The mycelium is essentially the root system. And it’s thought (by some, but not by all) that it contains lower amounts of adaptogens. MUD\WTR says they use both, but we only see mycelium on the label. It’s not to say that mycelium is totally pointless. We’ve just been told by many people in the industry that they’re not as good as fruiting bodies. Although some folks in the mycology community would disagree.

Then again, what the heck do we know? Seeing as we haven’t spent our live studying fungi, we are just trying to report all the information to you. Don’t shoot the messenger! (Why not buy the messenger a glass of wine and ask how the messenger’s day was? Would that be so difficult?)

HOW MUCH FUNCTIONAL MUSHROOMS AND ADAPTOGENS ARE IN THIS MUD\WTR mushroom coffee alternative?

There are two mgs of plant based functional mushrooms in a mug of MUD\WTR. And the tin has 30 servings in it. Why did we mention that it is plant based? Because people ask. It also has 20 calories and 4 grams of carbs. So it’s pretty Keto friendly.

What About the Taste?

Ahh, the eternal question. And the question we hate answering. Everyone is different. This doesn’t taste like coffee. But it tastes pretty good — mostly thanks to the cinnamon and cacao. Full disclosure: we put cinnamon in our regular coffee, so we may be biased. But the thing is, some people like the taste of MUD\WTR, and some people don’t. Give it a try if you think you’re ready to try a mushroom coffee.

HOW MUCH MUD\WTR mushroom coffee alternative SHOULD YOU DRINK?

We give the same advice for any and every supplement we review. Start small. Have a half a cup and see how you feel. If it’s like coffee, the recommended amount is usually however much it takes to make us feel like we can bend steel with our mind.

Also Read: Should you start drinking hemp milk?

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO BECOME EFFECTIVE?

Similar to coffee, this is pretty immediate. Now, it won’t give you the jolt of a traditional cup of joe. But it does provide a nice little natural energy boost, without the crash.

IS THIS MUD\WTR mushroom coffee alternative TESTED AND CERTIFIED?

As we mentioned earlier, they are USDA-certified organic. They have a ton of labels and certification icons on their website. So it’s nice to know that they have third parties looking at their products and practices.