Q: How would you like your coffee?
A: "With butter!"
...said no one, ever.
What if someone told you you could “lose 100 pounds without exercise, upgrade your IQ by more than 12 points, and stay healthy by sleeping less than 5 hours?” I bet I've got your attention now.
As I was researching the latest coffee trends (who can keep up anymore, anyway? Latte here, chai there, hemp, milk, etc.), Istumbled across Bulletproof Coffee. And though I laughed when I first read it aloud, it is a very real, albeit strange trend on the inter-webs.
After very minimal research (at least, I'm honest!), I decided I was going to give it a try. Scoring the last dusty bottle of coconut oil from the bottom shelf at my corner deli, I was ready.
Here's the recipe:
1 cup high quality black coffee
1-2 tbsp unsalted Kerrygold or grass-fed organic butter - (or in my case, whichever one of the many sticks of butter in my fridge)
1-2 tbsp pressed virgin coconut oil (you can skip this or replace it with other oils such as Bulletproof's own XCT oil)
Mix everything in a blender until it’s whipped and frothy - enjoy!
amy coffee-2
bulletproof coffee
Here's a diary of my Bulletproof morning:
Way too early: I set my alarm bright and early so I would have time to make the perfect Chemex (and stage the perfect photos) for this experimental drink. But after who knows how many pushes on the snooze button, all hopes for patient perfection have fallen out the window.
So now I'm thinking: today will be my day! This coffee is my ticket to improved brain function, an extra 6 hours of energy and continuous fat burning. Maybe I should issue out a fair warning? - watch out world, here I come! And then, more realistically, this better work.
I make my flawless single-origin Chemex and start mixing. As I rarely cook anything that follows recipes, I confidently start adding ingredients to the blender: 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp coconut oil and two-ish cups of coffee...Wrong! I added too much coffee. So I go back and add more fats and double the recipe, so now my husband can be a guinea pig, too. Blend until frothy - ew, right? - and enjoy!
Beyoncè knows flawless coffee
And enjoy I did! It tasted totally fine. I normally drink my coffee black, so adding these ingredients made it slightly creamy, like a morning dessert. My husband though couldn't get past the slimy mouthfeel; he ran to brush his teeth immediately after his first sip (which, is not a bad idea - I mean, you are drinking a bunch of butter and oil, after all). I finished my whole mug and had one last sip of his for the road -- gotta stockpile on those good fats to get me through the day!
8:30 - On the train to work and I can hardly keep my eyes open and the energy promise has yet to kick in.
9:45 am - I’m at the office and really wanting breakfast, the instant oatmeal is calling my name. This is no meal replacement. Where's my decreased appetite? Nevertheless, I'm a trooper -- staying strong and holding out.
11:15 am - My eyes were glazing over during the spreadsheet training; I caved and had my first cup of regular black coffee.
12:00 pm - had another bad idea and ate last night's left over gummy bears. Game over. I guess I'll go to lunch now and eat some real food.
Recap and Conclusion
After my sleepy and hungry morning I decided to properly research Bulletproof Coffee (better late than never, right?). Developed by a hiker who was once rejuvenated by a cup of yak butter tea in the Tibetan mountains, this drink is becoming famous for its incredible (or, some believe, not credible) impact on cognitive function. There are a few variations of recipes out there, but all of them called for Kerrygold or grass-fed butter. If and when I try this again I will definitely use the correct butter.
The reason grass-fed theoretically matters is that cows who eat grass produce a better kind of fat - meaning better impact on cholesterol and energy levels, better emulsification and better taste.
Though they say you only need to try this once to become a believer, I feel like I owe Bulletproof a second chance. I am still intrigued by the idea of this creamy coffee and I am definitely going to try it again - only this time, correctly.
This blog post was written by Amy Pawelko.
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