Coffee is a staple of my life. Since I know I'll always need coffee, I've considered ways to streamline the process. A morning coffee doesn't take too long to make, but there are ways to make it the process more efficient and effective. The following recipe is a combination of supplements which all have strong evidence to support immediate energy and long-term health benefits.
The Strongest Potion (yields about 20 cups of coffee)
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups ground coffee (for cold brew)
- 1/4 cups instant coffee (or 2 cups if not using ground coffee)
- 3 servings whey protein powder (preferably coffee flavor )
- 3 servings collagen powder (chocolate or unflavored)
- 4 servings functional mushroom powder
- 1 tablespoon Turmeric
- 1 tablespoon Ceylon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
Preparation:
- For cold brew coffee:
- Place coffee grounds into cheesecloth bag.
- Put coffee bag into 1-gallon pitcher and fill with water
- Mix all powdered ingredients together (makes 1 pint)
- Gradually pour powder into 1-gallon of cold brew coffee (or water) while constantly stirring (immersion blender recommended)
- Store pitcher in fridge
- Drink with milk or creamer to taste
Background
I've always liked blends and mixes. I like the idea of taking a variety of ingredients with various flavors or effects, and mixing them together into a "super" blend. That is really the trend these days of "superfoods", some special food product that is marketed as having all the nutrients we'd need. Rest assured, I've done a lot of googling to gain confidence with all the ingredients in the proprietary blend that I'm sharing.
The main benefit I'm targeting is the passive intake of these health supplements. Good habits are the foundation of self-development. Health supplements require consistent, long-term dosages to have meaningful effects. It takes effort each morning to take them, so it's easy to forget or skip. Since coffee is an enjoyable drink (and my personal staple), it becomes guaranteed that I'm also consuming the additional supplements mixed in. Based off these, I balanced the proportions around about 2 cups of coffee.
Caffeine
As much as I enjoy drinking coffee, I'm pretty bad at identifying the differences between coffee flavors, roasts, or types. In fact, I'm sure what I'm doing here would be horrific to coffee purists. I've been gifted a lot of coffee beans/grinds, so I do cold brewing since it's the easiest way to use them. I'd be just as content with just using instant coffee crystals. Anyways, some people have issues with caffeine since they experience anxiety, jitters, or crashing. I'd say the worst I get is a headache if I reach a 3rd cup of coffee. The proportions provided result in about 200mg caffeine per cup. For reference, a typical cup of coffee is about 100mg, and 400mg is considered safe for daily intake. Protein
Collagen
My wife bought collagen peptides one day, and I didn't think much of it. She did her own research that suggested that collagen peptides supported healthy skin, hair, and joints. At first I was skeptic, but collagen peptides do have a very positive perception from customers and medical professionals. The collagen peptides are derived from bovine tissue. They are essentially a protein powder mix, but with a different amino acid proportion.
Collagen is the main building block for our skin, hair, nails, and also blood vessels and muscles. The proposed mechanism is that the collagen peptides break down into amino acids. The amino acid composition triggers our own fibroblasts cell's collagen production, which maintains keeps them strong and tight. I'm not getting any younger, so this sounds like a way to slow down the inevitable aging process.
The mix proportions equate to about 5g of collagen per cup. Quick googling determines a daily recommended range of collagen is between 2.5g - 15g. A single cup is on the lower end, but drinking two cups would bring it up to 10g.
Functional Mushrooms
Supplement marketing makes big promises for their products. Who wouldn't want a magic pill that would make them stronger and smarter? I just saw a YouTube ad for "MUD/WTR", a powdered drink that would be an energy-boosting alternative for coffee. I wasn't going to abandon coffee; instead I was interested if I could combine their effects with coffee to get 2X efficiency. After some online research, I found that the MUD/WTR was viewed by many as over-priced and over-marketed. Usually these YouTube ads aren't to be trusted; if a product is good enough they don't need to spend that much on marketing. I dug into composition of the powder, and found it was just a mix of chai tea, cinnamon, turmeric, cocoa powder, and mushroom powder. The last one caught my eye.
There are a set of mushrooms most popular in the mushroom supplement realm:
- Lion's Mane: Cognitive function (nerve cell growth)
- Reishi: Regulates mood and anxiety
- Cordyceps: Physical energy and endurance
- Chaga: Antioxidants
- Turkey Tail: Immune system boosting
These mushrooms actually have long histories in traditional European / Asian medicine, however that was before peer reviewed research. Mushrooms have special properties since their biology is so unique; they're not plants nor animals. The main nutrient in mushrooms is their beta-glucans, which supposedly provide anti-inflammatory and immune system benefits. All of these claims have an asterisked "Not approved by FDA"
Clinical studies have not been performed for these natural herbs/mushrooms since they cannot be patented by pharma. Thus, many claims for their efficacy are not approved by the FDA. There are still many studies performed on animal and human cells that provide supporting evidence for these mushrooms. In addition to a large community and businesses marketing their benefits, I feel like trying it out. Now the hard part is knowing which product to buy. Even if you accept the benefits of these mushrooms, it's difficult to know if the supplements purchased have an effective dosage, or if they're just colored grain.
The proportion come out to about 1g of mixed functional mushrooms per cup. Based on various sources, a recommended daily dose would be 1g of each functional mushroom. The stuff isn't cheap so I'll monitor the effects with the current dosage, and perhaps try out other brands/mixes.
Turmeric / Cinnamon
I don't often cook with turmeric, so I wasn't too familiar with the flavor. The yellow spice is a main ingredient in Indian cuisine. It does sound strange to add this spice to coffee, but it does have its place in beverages. It can be mixed with milk to create "golden milk", or as part of spiced chai teas, which are both popular Indian drink. Turmeric contains curcumin, which has anti-inflammatory properties and other health benefits. Turmeric supplements usually contain black pepper extract to improve the absorption of the curcumin.
I also don't eat much cinnamon, but it apparently also has some benefits. There are two types of cinnamon: Cassia and Ceylon. The most common is Cassia, which has that strong, spicy flavor, while the Ceylon is more mild and aromatic. From what I've read, the Cassia may cause liver damage if too much of the coumarin compound is consumed. The Ceylon Cinnamon does not pose the same risk because of the lower coumarin content. Cassia is the common cinnamon found on most grocery stores, so you'd likely need to order it online.
Cinnamon has anti-inflammation, anti-oxidants, vitamins, and also tastes pretty good. The anti-inflammation and anti-oxidants come up a lot with these health foods. Inflammation and oxidative stress occurs in cells when they try to fix (detoxify) imbalance observed in the body, such as diet of highly processed foods. The stress on cells cause damage that may lead to disease. Thus, lowering inflammation will reduce cell stress, which reduces risks of heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative diseases. These anti-inflammatory / anti-oxidants help cells with their job, which protects them from damage. Protecting your cells and minimizing DNA damage is probably the key to slow down aging.
Xanthan Gum
This one isn't really a supplement, but more of processing ingredient. After some development of the recipe, I noticed a lot of sediment. Over time the collagen and mushroom solids collect at the bottom of the pitcher due to their weight. This defeated the purpose of having my homogenous solution. And it would be very inconvenient to have to stir the pitcher each time pouring out the drink.
Naturally, different particulates suspended in water will separate based on weight. After some research, I learned that most packaged liquids use some sort of gum extract to thicken their solutions and keep everything mixed together. If you look at any bottled sauce or thick drink ingredients, you'd find some gum extract used to keep everything homogenous. If the beverage isn't supposed to be thick, they won't add the gum and just recommend to shake before use.
Xanthan gum is quite powerful; adding too much without mixing will result in unpleasant gels in the solution. I found a single teaspoon mixed thoroughly with the other powders is enough to add the thickness needed to keep everything suspended. It does result in a "thicker" coffee, but it should be diluted with milk or cream anyways. The thickness adds a richer texture, which I enjoy. An alternate solution would be to add more whey protein, since they usually have some kind of gum extract (which is why they are so thick when mixed)
Conclusions
The resulting flavor is a mild mocha latte from the flavorings of the protein / collagen powders. There is a subtle spice from the cinnamon as well. The flavors of the turmeric and mushroom powders are lost, especially when mixed with milk. In the future, I would be interested in trying alternate flavors and brand of the powders. I'd also be interested in other "superfood" creamers, which also contain collagen or MCT oil (a coconut derived oil with some other health benefits). It'd also be interesting to try specialty coffees that have mushrooms or other special additives for that extra nootropic effect.
This would really ramp up the overall price of the mix though. The cost of the referenced products is about $140 in bulk. Based off the proportions, each 1-gallon batch costs about $12.50, or about $0.78 per cup. This is still a bargain compared to $2 for a plain coffee at Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts (not to mention the hassle of the travel and transaction time required to order a coffee outside).
As for the results, it serves the immediate function of quick coffee in the morning. Without all the frills, having a big pitcher of coffee is very convenient. I've been drinking about 1.5-2 cups a day, and I haven't experienced any adverse effects caused by too much/little caffeine. I haven't been feeling that 5pm drowsiness that I might get during the drive home. Perhaps it is the natural stimulants interacting with the caffeine.
With the increased calorie content, it supplement my breakfast so I feel less hungry before lunch. My thinking seems more clear; it feels like tasks and details aren't as overwhelming. From a mood perspective, it feels like I dwell less on negative emotions.
These could be real physiological effects, or just a placebo from all the research and effort I've put into this. Either way, I feel satisfied with the system I developed and the health benefits I think I'm getting. And that's enough for me!
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