Mushrooms are having a moment, with everyone from the president of the United States to celebrities promoting their wellness benefits. In fact, the fungi are so popular that you can buy mushroom powders and extracts in just about every grocery store. One of the latest trends in mushroom wellness is mushroom instant coffee, a blend of ground coffee beans and medicinal mushrooms like chaga, turkey tail and reishi.

Mushroom Instant Coffee: Convenience Meets Wellness

The product is advertised to offer a variety of health benefits, including reduced stress and improved sleep. It also is marketed as being lower in caffeine, which may help those who are sensitive to the psychoactive stimulant, such as pregnant and lactating women, children and people with heart problems.

According to a recent study, adaptogenic herbs and mushrooms like chaga, turkey tail, and cordyceps may help balance the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-gland axis when under stress. But there is little evidence that drinking mushroom instant coffee offers these same benefits. And, because the products typically include proprietary mushroom blends and don’t disclose the amount of medicinal mushrooms per serving, it’s hard to determine whether the doses are high enough to have a positive impact on health.

And, if the products do deliver on their claims, they will likely come at a premium. A 12-ounce bag of Earth & Star Hazelnut Mushroom Coffee costs more than twice as much as a comparable 12-ounce bag of Jim’s Organic Hazelnut Ground Coffee. And because there is no funded research on the medicinal mushrooms in these products, it’s hard to know how effective or safe they are if taken over a long period.…