Beverages, Health & Wellness
Four Sigmatic: The Purveyor of “Everyday Magic” through Mushroom Coffee
You might still only think of mushrooms as a boring pizza topping. Or you might even be very into mushrooms culinarily, adding them to omelets, savory tarts and stir fries. But have you thought about drinking mushroom coffee? It definitely sounds weird, I know. But not really any weirder than drinking the filtered juice of roasted beans, when you really think about it.
Four Sigmatic is a Finnish company that specializes in mushroom-based drinks (and now skincare!). While you may dismiss mushroom coffee as a quintessentially 2019 trend, up there with collagen peptides, the practice of drinking mushroom infusions has been around for centuries—specifically in China and Japan. And for good reason: Many mushrooms—including chaga, reishi, lion’s mane and cordyceps—are packed with antioxidants and cancer-fighting, immune-boosting, skin-repairing properties, in addition to boasting tons of important nutrients including B vitamins, selenium, potassium, and copper, as well as fiber and protein. Of course, you have to be careful with mushrooms, as we all know. You can’t just make a tea or a coffee out of any old fungus: it will either taste horrible, or your consciousness will expand and you’ll end up on the floor for hours. Better to leave it up to the professionals.
Four Sigmatic’s products are vegan, with only 0-3 grams of sugar and very few calories. Many of their products are also Whole 30- and Paleo-approved. Their products are screened by a third party for heavy metals, allergens, microbial quality (testing for good and bad bacteria), mycotoxins (toxins formed by yeast and other fungi), and pesticides, and none of their products are irradiated (the process of sterilizing food and prolonging its shelf-life by blasting it with gamma rays and electron beams).
I personally love Four Sigmatic, especially their Mushroom Coffee with Lion’s Mane and Chaga. I’m obsessed with this blend in particular for many reasons, not least of all because of the immune function support that the antioxidants in the chaga bring, and the memory, concentration and general cognitive enhancement that the lion’s mane boasts; I also find it less acidic than normal coffee, which means it does not burn the lining of your stomach; it is extremely high quality because of Four Sigmatic’s commitment to rigorous pesticide- and mycotoxin-testing; it does not make me jittery at all; and, best of all, it tastes great!
I’m also looking forward to trying some of Four Sigmatic’s Mushroom Elixirs, which they describe as herbal, earthy, and slightly bitter.