Many mainstream mushroom tea and coffee products don’t contain enough Lion’s Mane to function as an effective means of supplementation. Often with only 250mg/serving, they provide only a fraction of the amount determined to be effective in studies (2-11g/day) (Nagano, 2010; Mori, 2009; Vigna, 2019). High-quality supplements, via capsule or powders, are a more efficient means to supplement Lion’s Mane.
Table of Contents
- Lion’s Mane coffee
- Effective Lion’s Mane beverages
- Adding Lion’s Mane to your coffee
- The cost-effective way to supplement
- Summary
Lion’s Mane coffee
Lion’s Mane coffee, tea, and related beverage products generally aren’t the ideal way to get your daily supplement of this mushroom. Assuming you aim to consume 2,000mg/day (as recommended in our dosing article), you’d need to consume 4-8 servings of the typical functional mushroom beverage. In effect, this makes these products ineffective and exorbitantly priced. The table below breaks down some of these products in terms of U.S. dollars per gram of Lion’s Mane. It turns out that the Lion’s Mane in the beverages cost 10 times more than high-quality supplements on the market.
| Product | mg/serving | us$/g of Lion’s Mane |
|---|---|---|
| Forij Superfood Granola | 250 | 15 |
| Four Sigmatic Instant Mushroom Coffee with Lion’s Mane Canister- Multiserve | 250 | 4.7 |
| Four Sigmatic Think Ground Coffee with Lion’s Mane & Chaga Mushrooms | 250 | 5.0 |
| teecino Lion’s Mane Rhodiola Rose Mushroom Herbal Tea | 300 | 1.6 |
| MudWtr 30 serving :rise | 562 | 2.97 |
Effective Lion’s Mane beverages
In our research, we found one Lion’s Mane beverage with an appropriate dosage (1,500 mg/serving) at a fair price, made of only pure fruiting body: the Four Sigmatic Think Elixir. It works out to $USD 1/gram of Lion’s Mane. Although this is double the price of the supplements we analyzed, it is significantly less than all other beverages on the market.
Adding Lion’s Mane to your coffee
An alternative to purchasing mushroom coffee is to simply attempt mixing it yourself. Consider purchasing some Lion’s Mane powder in bulk. For example, the brand Cultivate Elevate carries a Lions Mane Mushroom Extract Powder for $25, containing 100 grams (50 servings) of pure fruiting body. They suggest you add the powder to coffee, tea, smoothies, or baking recipes.
The cost-effective way to supplement
The most cost-effective way to consume Lion’s Mane is through supplementation via capsules or powders. The following table breaks down the costs and servings of three brands, all of which use pure fruiting body. Observe how the costs per gram of Lion’s Mane are all less than even the “cheapest” beverage above.
| Product | mg/serving | USD/g of Lion’s Mane |
|---|---|---|
| Real Mushrooms Organic Lions Mane Extract Capsules | 1000 | 0.50 |
| FreshCap Lion’s Mane Capsules (120 count) | 1000 | 0.58 |
| Tribe Organic Lion’s Mane | 1800 | 0.43 |
Check out our review of 25+ Lion’s Mane supplements and our simple 3-Point buying guide to figure out the best supplement for you.
Summary
The majority of beverages and coffees with added Lion’s Mane don’t provide a high enough concentration of the mushroom per serving. Not only are these beverages likely ineffective in letting you meet your supplementation goals (if you intend to consume at least 1-2g/day) but are often severely marked-up. Supplementation via concentrated capsules or powders enable you effectively supplement several grams a day, and are significantly more cost-effective.
