Benefits of Mushroom Coffee: An Interview With Four Sigmatic

Even less than a decade ago, most people would probably think the words “mushroom coffee” meant adding portobellos to your pumpkin latte or something equally bizarre. 

Now, anyone who’s even dipped their toes in the wellness world knows that functional mushrooms are insanely trendy, and mushroom coffee is one of the tastiest ways to get your dose. 

As a 13th-generation Finnish mushroom farmer with an affinity for foraging, Four Sigmatic founder Tero Isokauppila knew intuitively that mushrooms were superfoods—and he was the first to make medicinal mushrooms mainstream.

Our team at The Nutrition Insider chatted with Tero himself at Expo West 2024, where we learned more about the benefits of mushroom coffee and why it’s better than a regular cup of joe. 

What Is Mushroom Coffee?

First things first: What is mushroom coffee, anyway?

While there are several ways to go about mushroom coffee, most are medicinal mushrooms mixed with ground coffee beans, instant coffee, or whole coffee beans (a rarity seen only with Four Sigmatic).  

The mushrooms used in mushroom coffee blends are not the same as the ones you eat on a pizza or find in a salad bar.

Medicinal mushrooms go above and beyond these grocery store ‘shrooms, providing elevated health benefits that have been used therapeutically in Traditional Chinese Medicine for millennia. 

As Tero puts it, Four Sigmatic mushroom coffee is “a delicious cup of organic coffee with added benefits.”

But what kind of benefits do they offer? 

Well, it depends on the type of functional mushroom you consume. Although each mushroom can have overlapping effects, they are typically known for one overarching benefit. 

Tero explains it best: “If you want cognitive function, use lion’s mane. If you want stress and sleep support, use reishi. If you want energy, use cordyceps. If you want gut health and immunity, then it’s chaga.”

Let’s take a closer look at the potential health benefits that these mushrooms impart. 

Health Benefits of Mushroom Coffee

The most commonly used functional mushrooms in mushroom coffee are chaga, cordyceps, lion’s mane, and turkey tail. As reishi is a more calming mushroom known for helping with stress and sleep, it’s not often included in coffee products. 

Some key bioactive compounds in functional mushrooms that provide health benefits are triterpenes, polyphenols, and flavonoids, which act as antioxidants and exhibit anti-inflammatory activity.

Mushrooms also contain beta-glucan, a polysaccharide and fiber that acts as a prebiotic, improving digestion, gut health, and immunity. 

In addition to providing elevated health benefits over coffee, the mushroom-loaded version can also help with two very common yet unwanted symptoms of drinking caffeinated coffee: jitters and digestive issues.

When you combine organic coffee with adaptogens and functional mushrooms (like Four Sigmatic Think Mushroom Coffee), these symptoms are much lessened or eliminated.

Benefits of Chaga Mushroom Coffee

Chaga mushrooms are best known for their immune-boosting properties, in part because chaga has the highest antioxidant levels of all functional mushrooms. 

One of the antioxidants found in chaga is called hispidin, which has been shown to exhibit anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, neuroprotective, and cardioprotective effects.² 

Research has shown that chaga promotes the activity of white blood cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, and natural killer cells, which all help the body fight infections and pathogens.³

It’s also been shown to improve gut health by boosting the diversity and growth of beneficial gut bacteria, including Bifidobacterium. As the gut and immune system are closely linked, this may be another way that chaga supports immune function.⁴

Although lion’s mane is typically considered the brain-booster of the group, research has suggested that chaga’s anti-inflammatory compounds and antioxidant properties also benefit brain health and cognition. 

For example, a study with mice found that chaga extract protected against Alzheimer’s disease markers, including reduced markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain, improved memory and cognition, and reduced levels of the harmful beta-amyloid plaques characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.⁵

Benefits of Cordyceps Mushroom Coffee

Cordyceps is an excellent choice for mushroom coffee, as it can boost physical energy, stamina, and exercise performance—perfect if you need to get up and running in the morning.

The stamina-boosting effects of cordyceps fungi have been recognized by sherpas in the Himalayan mountains for centuries. At those high altitudes, they noticed they could breathe easier, expend more energy, and have more endurance on long treks after eating cordyceps.

Research backs this up, too, in which cordyceps has shown promise for improving exercise performance due to increased ATP production.⁶

Another study found that using cordyceps for three weeks reduced time to exhaustion and increased VO2 max after high-intensity exercise.⁷ 

Benefits of Lion’s Mane Mushroom Coffee

If you need to take a test or have a major work project you need to do well on, lion’s mane should be your ‘shroom of choice, as it’s best known for brain function. 

Lion’s mane supports cognition by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation and providing antioxidant activity. It also contains compounds called erinacines that benefit neuron health and can pass through the blood-brain barrier, suggesting they can act on the brain.⁸

Lion’s mane also increases two brain growth factors: BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and NGF (nerve growth factor). BDNF and NGF are vital for growing, protecting, and maintaining neuron health, which is associated with cognition, memory, and mood.⁹

Clinical research in 50-to-80-year-old Japanese adults found that supplementing with lion’s mane mushroom powder for 16 weeks led to significantly improved cognitive function scores, which began to improve after 8 weeks of supplementation.¹⁰

When you combine lion’s mane with caffeinated coffee, you get a one-two punch for cognitive function and mental clarity—but without the jitters or upset stomach. 

Studies have also shown that lion’s mane supports the brain in different ways, including benefiting mood and reducing the risk of depression and anxiety.¹¹

Mushroom Coffee Health Benefits FAQs