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If you’re already a coffee addict (and I use that as a term of endearment), you appreciate the extra kick that coffee gives you in the morning. But what if coffee is actually a health food?
Coffee gets a bad rap, but the science shows that high-quality organic coffee—and I’ll explain what I mean by that—can be an awesome biohack for increased energy and focus as well as a powerful fat-burning aid high in anti-oxidants and polyphenols.
More importantly, good coffee tastes great. It’s like a health food disguised as an indulgence.
Before I give you all the benefits of drinking good coffee, let me define “good coffee.” Good coffee is organic, fair trade, and freshly roasted. I order green beans from all over the world and roast them myself… but if you’re not doing that, a great option is Dave Asprey’s Bulletproof Coffee—it has all the bennies without the afternoon crash.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF GOOD COFFEE
- Decreased risk of type 2 diabetes
- Protection against Parkinson’s disease
- Powerful antioxidant
- Protection against liver disease and liver cancer
- Elevated mood and decreased risk of depression
Of course, these benefits come with moderate coffee consumption—just like most other things, overdoing it can come with some risk. A cup or two a day will get you all the benefits without giving you the jitters!
PLUS, adding grass-fed butter and MCT Oil to your coffee gives you these BONUS BENEFITS:
- Immediate sustained energy
- Mental acuity
- Metabolic kickstart
- Increased fat-burning
THE BASIC FATTY COFFEE
Okay, so now it’s time to put down your drive-through caramel vanilla cappuccino and grab the delicious cup of coffee that will really keep you going all day and keep you healthy all—well, a long time!
The basic fatty coffee recipe is: A mug full of freshly brewed good coffee (I recommend aeropress or French press), a scant tablespoon of MCT oil, and a scant tablespoon of grass-fed butter. Blend in your Vitamix (or high powered blender) while the coffee’s hot, or use a hand-held frother to whip it all together. From there, you can take your morning Joe to all kinds of delicious levels!
Here are a few of my FAVORITE FATTY COFFEE RECIPES FOR 2015! These yummy drinks are enough to get you up in the morning—and keep you going all day.
TOP SHELF CAPPUCCINO
The day is young… it’s time to break out a stack of hardcover classics and sip a perfectly layered cappuccino while contemplating the state of society. Now, that’s a plan of someone who knows that almond milk makes the best foam. Someone who knows what life is all about.
Ingredients:
- Double shot of espresso
- 1 tablespoon grass-fed butter
- 1 tablespoon MCT oil
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
Directions:
- Pour the shot of espresso and then transfer to a large pitcher. Add the butter and oil.
- Using a handheld frother, skim just below the surface to froth together the fats and coffee. Submerge a couple of times to mix the liquid below. Pour the mixture into a cappuccino cup.
- Using a pot on the stove or the steamer wand on your cappuccino machine, heat the almond milk to about 170˚F. Gently lift up on the wand of the cappuccino machine, and skim just below the milk surface to create a large layer of foam. If using the stovetop method, use the handheld frother to skim the milk’s surface and whip up a large layer of foam.
- At this point, the milk should be mostly foam with just a little bit of hot milk beneath. Pour the milk into the espresso, using a spoon to hold back the foam if necessary. Spoon the foam over the top. Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon (optional).
CAFÉ DE MANANA
The cinnamon flavor is infused into the brew of this warm, spiced coffee reminiscent of traditional Mexican Coffee… which, in America, usually has some kind of liquor in it. This, however, leaves out the tequila in favor of brain-boosting fats. PLUS, cinnamon is an appetite suppressant—so you’ll feel fuller, longer.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups French pressed coffee
- 1 tablespoon MCT oil
- 1 tablespoon grass-fed butter
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 packet raw stevia (or birch xylitol)
- Cinnamon for dusting
Directions:
- Place enough ground coffee into your French press to brew two cups. Add one teaspoon of cinnamon. Pour in two cups of boiling water and steep for five minutes. Press.
- Pour the coffee into the pitcher of your high powered blender. Add the MCT oil, grass-fed butter and stevia. Process until creamy with a bit of froth on top.
- Pour into a warm mug and dust with cinnamon.
JUNIOR MINT MOCHA
This minty mocha tastes like a stack of those thin and crispy Girl Scout cookies dunked in milk. It’s like a box of Junior Mints washed back with a cup of creamy coffee. It’s like floating on a chocolate cloud with cool mint breezes blowing in your hair. Yeah, it’s magic in a mug.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups French pressed coffee
- 1 tablespoon MCT oil
- 1 tablespoon grass-fed butter
- 2 tablespoons full fat coconut milk or grass-fed heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract (or to taste)
- 1 packet raw Stevia or birch xylitol (or to taste)
- Dollop of coconut whipped cream or organic dairy whipped cream, to serve
Directions:
- Brew and press a pot of coffee in your French press. Pour two cups into the pitcher of your high powered blender. Add the oil, butter, coconut milk, cacao powder, peppermint extract, and stevia. Process on high until creamy with a good amount of froth on top.
- Top with a dollop of whipped organic heavy cream or whipped coconut cream and a sprinkle of cacao powder.
MY FAVORITE COFFEE TOPPER—COCONUT WHIPPED CREAM
Coconut whipped cream looks like that tub of white stuff you get in the grocer’s freezer, but the two actually taste nothing alike. Coconut whipped cream is made from one ingredient: Coconut milk. That tub of white stuff is made up of… a whole bunch of stuff that I’d rather not mention. So we put this white stuff, or pure organic dairy whipped cream from pasture grazed cows, on our coffee drinks instead.
Ingredients:
- 1 15-ounce can full fat organic coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional) or a few drops of liquid vanilla stevia
Directions:
- Flip the can of coconut milk upside down and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. Flip it back over and open it. The cream will all be on the top. Scoop it into the bowl of an upright kitchen mixer. Add vanilla. Using the whisk attachment, whisk until light and fluffy.
- Store unused portions of coconut whipped cream in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to five days.
Alternate method: Pour the can of room temperature coconut milk (plus vanilla if using) into the chamber of a liter-sized whipped cream maker and charge according to manufacturer directions. Shake and squirt!
Tip: Make sure the coconut cream is mixed well before putting it into the whipped cream maker. If it’s separated, run it through the blender first.
TOP TIPS FOR BREWING FATTY COFFEE
If you’re just getting started with fatty coffee, here are a couple of tips to make sure the process is smooth. While it’s slightly more involved than brewing a pot of coffee and dumping in some International Creamer, it only takes a few minutes and will become second-nature in no time!
TIP 1: Start with a teaspoon each of grass-fed butter and MCT oil and increase it over the next few days to reach a tablespoon. This way, you’re not spending that first few days running to the bathroom!
TIP 2: For a really “creamy style” beverage, use the blender instead of the hand-held frother and crank it up to full power for a good minute or so. You’ll be amazed at how “creamy” your coffee gets!
TIP 3: Warm your mug by filling it with some of the boiling water you intend to use for your French Press (or just boil up some water). Pour it out just before you fill it for a nice warm mug that won’t cool down your coffee.
Try out these recipes, and if you’re still craving some variety, there are ten awesome fatty coffee recipes in the Wild Kitchen App! Maybe a cool Fatty Frap or a Sultry Pig (yeah, it’s coffee with bacon and chocolate) are your cup of coffee… then hop on over and grab the app, which also gives you access to dozens of delicious fat-burning recipes!
RESOURCES
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-04/hsop-idc042214.php
Sandy says:
I have to admit, my favorite is adding a pastured egg to the coffee. It makes it taste like “hot ice cream.” Yes, I know, there may be some issues with raw eggs, but I’m willing to risk it. Perhaps you only need to add the yolk, but I’m too lazy to separate them. Try it out! It is an AWESOME addition to your “standard” butter/MCT oil concoction and super easy (v adding “whips” and “froths” and such). S
Robet says:
Sandy, if you put a raw egg in your hot coffee, the heat of the coffee (if over 105) pasturizes the egg (if you mix it in) and would kill the baddies without totally negating the nutrients of the egg. This is a great idea to add along with the butter/MCT….
Kristin says:
I don’t drink coffee, but do the same to black tea. I use coconut oil and sometimes a dab of honey, plus 2 tablespoons grass fed hydrolysate gelatin powder. And blend with a hand held blender. Very creamy and yummy!
purelytwins says:
OMG the mint one looks perfect!
Terra says:
What is met oil?
Robet says:
MCT, Medium Chain Triglycerides (coconut oils is high in these fats)
Laura says:
I am wondering why the last post I see and the last podcast I can receive is dated Oct. 12? What has changed. I miss the podcasts!
cathy says:
Great post Thanks Abel. I love my Bullet proof coffee and the focus and energy it gives me.
Monica says:
@Terra – it’s mct oil, medium chain triglyceride. Similar to, but some say it’s superior to, coconut oil. MCT oil is available at stores and online. Just depends if you want to use it or coconut oil, along with the grass-fed butter.
Simon says:
What is a good source of green beans to roast the coffee yourself?
Shana says:
Love the recipies!! I use the mct and coconut oil in my black tea as well! Thanks!
JDT says:
For someone looking for the perfect kickstart, try this:
Preheat an espresso cup and add 1tsp of melted pastured butter. Pour a double ristretto directly from the machine (Do Not confuse with espresso – NOT the same thing).
Voila! Gently stir and gulp it down. You will never go back.
Warning, if the person pouring the ristretto is not a good barista, don’t bother, it will taste awful.
Matthew G. Monroe says:
Funny… My friends kinda’ know me as that “buttery coffee guy,” and I will admit to being an evangelist for the tasty brew: offering to whip up a cup whenever folks come over to the house. My particular version is “refined” MCT oil-free, though doused with enough coconut butter and coconut milk to have a decent amount of naturally occuring MCT’s. Here’s how fatty coffee is made in my kitchen:
• One cup of dark roast organic coffee, quick brewed in an Aeropress.
• One TBS of Kerry Gold Salt-free Butter.
• One heaping TBS of Organic Coconut Butter.
• Three to Four TBS of Organic Coconut Milk.
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp of Ground Cinnamon.
Place in a tall cup or mug, and then –– using a long spoon or small whisk –– whip the living hell out of all this until a good amount of foam forms on top. Honestly, this is the best damn cup of coffee imaginable, and the sort of thing that keeps me going for a good three to four hours (especially with all 250 of its delicious, saturated-fat laden calories). Also, the cinnamon is a really nice touch, giving a slightly sweet flavor to the brew, without actually adding any sugars to the mix.
Alex says:
Lovely recipies !!!! It’s awesome mixture…..Great..
Anishur says:
My freind were advising me for a coffee , however I was not having it and now i can see great benefits of having coffee in a day .
Amazing post….
rob says:
I eat raw eggs all the time, you risk more walking across the street than eating raw eggs, or raw meat.
Emily says:
Is the bulletproof brand MCT oil the best bang for the buck? I wonder how this affects hormones in women.
Denise Smith says:
I must admit your coffee looks absolutely delicious and far better than coffee at some shops but I’m still unconvinced about using something like MCT oil or the ingredients of Bulletproof coffee!
Debbie says:
Abel, I’m still trying to wrap my brain around MCT oil. Is it necessary? Can I just start out with butter? Why use MCT oil? On the TV show, you showed Kurt how to make the coffee with butter. Did you use MCT oil too?
Robyn says:
Can you use a hand held immersion blender for the same results or no?
Patrick says:
Can you have these with breakfast or best in place of breakfast? Frankly I need the extra calories but am unsure if the high fat with a meal is too much!
Mathieu says:
Hi Abel!
LOVE all your work! and thanks for helping me drop 30 lbs. in 7 weeks… I have seem to hit a plateau and my fat burning as slowed down. after listening to the Urban Monk’s podcast and his Attack on Coffee I have researched and found this
.
http://drhyman.com/blog/2012/06/13/ten-reasons-to-quit-your-coffee/
“1.The caffeine in coffee increases catecholamines, your stress hormones. The stress response elicits cortisol and increases insulin. Insulin increases inflammation and this makes you feel lousy.”
“2.Habituation to caffeine decreases insulin sensitivity, making it difficult for your cells to respond appropriately to blood sugar. High blood sugar levels lead to arterial deterioration and increased risk of mortality related to cardiovascular disease.”
“9.Elevated urinary excretion of important minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium have been noted in coffee drinkers. An imbalance in your electrolyte status can lead to serious systemic complications.”
Thinking the coffee might help, but it could be counter productive at a certain point… I am going to try and do decaffeinated Tea with my coconut oil.. I will let you know how it works out for me..
lee says:
great post – coffee – everyone needs it! what would we do without it…
Stephanie says:
I get the most awesome results using a Nutribullet blender. Rich, thick and creamy with a head of dense foam that lasts to the end. I always had a problem with the oil slick on top until I tried this method.
Ginny says:
is it OK to substitute the grass fed butter with grass fed ghee? What is the difference?