At this point, you’ve probably heard about Fatty Coffee or Bulletproof Coffee made famous by our friend Dave Asprey.
But can putting fat in your coffee actually help you drop fat? The answer may surprise you.
Now, some people go overboard by slugging many hundreds of calories of pure fat every day in their coffee and wonder why they’re not dropping fat. In this blog post, though, you’ll learn how to make your coffee the right way to rev your fat-burning engines.
Most days, I enjoy 1-3 cups of coffee in the morning with a tablespoon or so of grass-fed heavy whipping cream per cup. If I’m feeling hungry, I might add a teaspoon of full-fat coconut milk or coconut oil, as well (use these fats if you’re looking to make a dairy-free version of Fatty Coffee, as my wife Alyson often does).
Keep in mind that my typical daily Fatty Coffee calorie burden accounts for around 100-150 calories – NOT the 500+ calories some people dump into their cuppa joe when they’re going nuts with slugging Bulletproof coffee all day. (All calories are not created equal, but they do count.)
A cup of coffee or tea infused with grass-fed butter, coconut oil, and even a little grass-fed heavy cream can be a tasty way to get quality fats into your diet… especially if you’re doing a ketogenic or cyclical fast and avoiding carbs and protein in the morning to help normalize insulin and blood sugar.
These days, a lot have you have been asking me, “Can I eat fats while I’m fasting in the morning?!”
Sure! When you add fats to your fasting window, it’s technically a ketogenic fast or “Fat-Fasting.” The short-chain fats and medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) found in grass-fed butter, coconut oil, and whipping cream are burned readily as brain fuel. Compared to the carb-crash cycle that happens when you eat toast and cereal for breakfast, you might feel alert, satiated, and free from cravings when you focus on getting fats in the morning.
Why would you want fat in the morning instead of carbs? Recent research shows that what you eat in the morning programs your metabolism to run on that fuel for the rest of the day. So if you’re eating cereal, bread, juices, or other carbs in the morning, many people experience carb cravings and elevated (fat-storing) insulin for the rest of the day. But when you focus on fat in the morning, you’re programming your body to BURN fat as its main fuel which can spur fat loss.
How To Make Fatty Coffee The Right Way
Since coffee is one of the most sprayed crops on Earth, start with organic coffee to avoid exposure to pesticides. French-pressing coffee is a quick and dirty way to get full extraction from your coffee grounds—or try an AeroPress.
Do yourself a favor and always get the freshest beans you can—most of coffee’s flavors dissipate two weeks after roasting. I love to roast fair-trade, organic, green coffee beans at home on the stove to ensure I always have the best-tasting and freshest coffee possible.
If you can’t roast your own beans, then go for a good quality, freshly-roasted, whole bean coffee to ensure your beans aren’t stale or full of nasty chemicals.
LEARN HOW TO DROP 20 POUNDS IN 40 DAYS WITH REAL FOOD
In this video, I’ll walk you through the process I use to make Fatty Coffee, inspired by Dave at Bulletproof. Having a bit of butter and MCT oil in your coffee can be a great way to feed your brain in the morning, but it can be easy to over do it. You don’t need to count calories, but you do need to track what you’re eating and be sensible about what you’re putting in your body throughout the day. There’s a big difference between one or two cups of coffee, and polishing off an entire pot by yourself. Cheers!
So rich and creamy—Try this fat-burning Fatty Coffee recipe for yourself. @fatburnman Share on XHere’s my recipe for Fatty Coffee…
- 4 cups hot French-pressed coffee from hand-roasted, fair-trade, organic beans
- 1 - 4 tablespoons high-quality fat, like grass-fed cream, butter, ghee, coconut milk, coconut oil, etc.
- Boil purified water.
- Coarsely grind roasted coffee beans, and add to French Press. Pour hot water over the top. Stir with a wooden spoon.
- Steep for 3-5 minutes, then press down on the top of the French Press.
- Meanwhile, pour hot water in your mug to warm. Empty hot water from mug, and pour in coffee.
- Add any add-ins you’re using like cream, butter, coconut oil, and/or vanilla bean or other spices.
- Using a handheld milk frother, skim along the mixture just below the surface. The frother will whip air into the coffee mixture and a nice froth will begin to form on the top. Fully immerse the frother a couple of times just to mix everything up underneath. Alternatively, add ingredients to your blender and blend.
- Enjoy.
Here are some of my favorite coffee tools and add-ins:
- French Press
- AeroPress Coffee & Espresso Maker
- Milk Frother or iKea Frother
- Coffee Grinder
- SpongeBob Mug
- Grass-fed Butter
- FatCoffee (easy travel packets with grass-fed ghee, organic coconut oil, and MCT oil)
Enjoy your rich, creamy, silky cup of fat-burning coffee! If you’re interested in roasting your own beans, I’m giving you directions below PLUS one of my favorite Fatty Coffee variations—the Cafe de Mañana!
How To Roast Your Own Coffee
To roast your own coffee: First, open a window and turn on the stove’s hood fan—it’s about to get smokey in here!
Preheat skillet to medium.
Add green beans to your skillet in one even layer and toast them, turning and stirring regularly with a wooden spoon.
After about five minutes, the beans will turn from green to yellow to a golden color, then to a caramel brown.
Around this point you should hear the first “crack.” Keep going, you’re doing fine!
When the beans go through a “second crack” they’ll be dark and oily and you’ll want remove them from the heat so they don’t char, about 7 minutes total.
Pour the roasted beans into a metal colander and continue stirring to allow the chaff (dry “skins”) to fall through the holes into the sink—Alternatively, you can pour roasted beans into a pot or large bowl, shake and stir the beans, and allow to cool, then take the beans outside, close your eyes, and blow off the chaff.
Next, I grind up what I need for my cup o’ joe, brew it in a French press, then froth it up with heavy cream or a bit of grass-fed butter.
Leave the rest of the freshly roasted coffee beans in an open container on the counter overnight to gas off, then store in an airtight container in a cool dry place—like the pantry. It will be at it’s peak for the next few days. Best if used within 14 days.
If you’d like a video demonstration of how to roast your own coffee beans at home, join me in the Fat-Burning Tribe for just $1 for the first month
CAFÉ DE MAÑANA
- 2 cups French pressed coffee
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream (grass-fed)
- 1 tablespoon butter (grass-fed)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of organic stevia or monk fruit (to taste)
- Cinnamon for dusting
- 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 heavy cream, butter, cinnamon and stevia. Process until creamy with a bit of froth on top.
- Pour into a warm mug and dust with cinnamon.
If you give home-roasting a shot, or you try the Cafe de Mañana or any of the yummy Fatty Coffee recipes from The Wild Kitchen App, take a pic and tweet it at me @fatburnman. We love to see what you’re brewing in your kitchen.
Before You Go…
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How do you take your coffee in the morning? Have you tried Fatty Coffee? Leave a comment below and let us know!
“Recent research shows that what you eat in the morning programs your metabolism.” Have you got a link for that research? My wife’s a bit of an academic and now I won’t believe research until she approves the study 🙂
I do butter, coconut oil and a sprinkle of cinnamon. It’s enough breakfast to get me through 2 hours of Ultimate Frisbee practice.
Hi Abel, I am going on 52 years old and workout every morning. I was putting Collagen in my coffee after my workouts, would this break my fasting state?
Thanks.
Yoli
Hi Able, can you please advise why your metabolism won’t slow down if you fast? I typically skip breakfast and break fast at noon. I do have at least 2x fatty coffees each morning.
Abel…I would also like to see where this research was pulled from. I’ve heard this drink from a couple of friends, and I’ve also received the stink eye from friends that think I’m a nut for trying this. Thanks.
Hi Abel,
Thank you for this info. We have been doing bulletproof almost every morning for over 5 years. We’ll now take you up on roasting our own beans.
Thank you again! -Vie & Tim
Hi Abel,
On the show, “My diet is better than your diet”, you had Kurt roast his coffee on the stove with a special pan. What is that pan and where can I get one? I have googled it but came up with nothing.
Hi Nathan, it’s actually a “nut roaster” that I found online years ago for about $20 bucks!
HI
where can i source “passive organic” coffee without any mold? I read that most of the coffee sold out there has mold and is not good for you. There is one website that advertizes “passive organic coffee” but it is a little too expensive. Also grass fed butter is a little out of reach for me with my minimum wage salary. ALso, I live in a big city so I do not have access to organic vegetables and grass fed free range animals. It is very expensive to buy these things anyway.
So how do low income people benefit from the raw food diet or is it only for the well to do?
Hey Abel,
I have been doing something similar to this but I use organic unrefined virgin coconut oil. Is MCT better? How about using green tea instead of coffee?
Coconut oil with green tea is great, too!
Hi Abel,
is it important that there is caffeine of theine inside the fatty coffee/tea? I’m not a big coffee drinker, so I add my fats to herbal tea and chocolate milk (with almond milk ;-)).
Tea works great!
A little leary about butter in my coffee. Like the sound of cream better, so grass fed cream is an ok substitute?
Yes grass-fed cream is fantastic!
Hello. I am a dairy farmer from Wisconsin. There is no difference between organic creamer and regular creamer except price. They have the exact same nutrition profile, safety, health benefits. You don’t need to pay more to get the same thing. 🙂
I like butter and coconut oil both in my coffee together, 1T each. Toss in blender or use frother or immersion blender to incorporate the fat. Just like a frothy fatty Starbucks concoction but made with stuff that’s actually good for you. I’ve heard the coffee’s with heavy cream are also good blended but have not tried. I like mine poured in.
Abel,
Thanks for all the great information! What are your thoughts on adding whey protein isolate to fatty coffee? Does it defeat the purpose of the fast? My theory is that I am trying to get protein in every “meal”, should it be included in my fatty coffee “breakfast”?
Joe use collagen in hot coffee, whey in iced coffee….heat will denature the whey.
Hi-
I’m wondering if it’s possible to do this with raw cacao instead of coffee. It has a few carbs in it, though. Would that defeat the purpose?
I have also tried avocado puree in coffee. It is another awesome way to get good fats in your diet if you are still afraid of coconut oil and butter.
You see, coconut oil and butter in large quantities is still an unproven idea only prevalent in podcasts and such and recommended by “experts”. Avocado, on the other hand, has a long, proven history of being a good fat!! take half and avocado and blend it with your coffee. It may sound yucky at first, but have an open mind and try it!!
Interesting chapter in max lugaveres book genius foods about coconut oil and Alzheimer’s.
Hi Abel
Is it possible just use grass fed whole milk? I don’t care for the texture of cream.
Abel, do you have any recommendations for using a Keurig? Like brand or roast. I have the Keurig 2.0 and can’t use “fresh” coffee beans, have to use the pods. Thank you.
Keurig has a filter pod that you can put your own coffee into instead of the plastic pods
Hi Abel… I have been drinking this for several years now .. but I add 2 tab grass fed butter and 1 tab mct oil.. am I adding to much fat to my two cup coffee in the morning? I don’t eat until 12 noon.
Abel if you are going to recommend heavy whipping cream, for God’s sake PLEASE instruct your tribe to locate low temp pasteurized cream. It does no one any favors if they use organic, grassfed heavy cream that’s been ‘homogenized’ and “ultra high temp” pasteurized!
This is a great point, Pammy.
Hi Abel…. Great topic….but I tried fatty coffee… And nearly had to go running for a sink. While the flavor was good, my stomach rejected it outright. I don’t want to repeat that. Was wondering if anybody else had the same reaction?
Any other suggestions for a fasting morning drink?? Thanks! Red
Red, Running to the sink is a good sign. The butter and MCT oil are finally lubricating your large intestine and your sphincters to the point that you are feeling “runny” (pun intended)
The buuter and coconut MCT oil not only makes it easy for your waste product slide down the chute easy, it will make your boyfriend happy too , Red. it will eliminate the need for lube, dude… your boyfriend will be able to enter your tush very easily
Hey Abel,
My husband is a die-hard “WILD DIET” fan and has lost 50 lbs since he began this lifestyle journey last year and has managed to sustain weight loss will eating recently alive foods. He is an avid drinker of butter in his coffee and LOVES it. I on the other hand, do not drink coffee – period. I grew up in the Caribbean drinking hot teas. Is there an alternative for butter in your coffee for the non-coffee drinkers like myself?
Absolutely – tea works great! Glad your husband loves it. 🙂
Hi Abel,
I am adding organic leaf Stevia, grass fed butter and a dash of grass fed whipping cream and just drinking one cup a day. Am I doing it wrong?
That should work just fine, Celia!
Abel, I drink coffee with butter and mct oil in the AM. Is it okay to drink it in the afternoon or should I just drink black coffee? I’m getting off pre workouts and wan tot use coffee instead.
Thanks!
I’d stick to drinking this in the morning. Cheers!
Hey Abel! Would there be any additional benifits to drinking the fatty coffee for breakfast and at night? Would it help me go into ketosis faster especially if my supper was 10 grams or less of carbs?
Hi Abel! Just curious about your thoughts on having fatty coffee on non-fasting days. Should I skip it on days that I don’t fast? I love my coffee and don’t want to go without but also don’t want to consume too much fat…since losing fat is the goal for me! If I should skip the fatty coffee on non-fasting days, any alternatives to just drinking black coffee?
Do you have any thoughts on the Nutiva butter flavored coconut oil? I cannot do dairy (and also have reactions to ghee), so I’m wondering whether this is a viable option to get that different flavor profile. https://store.nutiva.com/buttery-coconut-oil/
Hi Charlotte, yes that looks like a decent option. We use plenty of Nutiva at home. Enjoy!
Hi Abel, I am totally new to this – does this buttered coffee/tea work as in the morning if one live the rest of the day not in totally ketonic lifestyle? Or is this contraproductive and only works if one gets into ‘ketosis’ and uses the entire lifestyle?
Hi. I have read different articles in which the recipe called for one teaspoon or one tablespoon of the fats. Please clarify.
My favorite way to make it is adding organic madagascar vanilla extract and organic ceylon cinnamon (true cinnamon, as opposed to the commonly used cassia). Tastes delicious and adds more healthy benefits.
Why not cassia cinnamon?
Ceylon cinnamon has a sweeter, more delicate flavor than cassia does, which may make it preferable for flavoring desserts and lighter dishes. But the more important distinction may be the presence of a chemical called coumarin, a natural plant chemical that acts as a blood thinner. This chemical is present in much higher concentrations in cassia than in Ceylon cinnamon. It is contraindicated for anyone taking prescription blood thinners. Coumarin has also been shown to be toxic to the liver and kidneys, and it may also be carcinogenic, which can negate any health benefits of cinnamon.
Other Benefits of Ceylon Cinnamon
In addition to its potential beneficial effect on glucose metabolism and body weight, Ceylon cinnamon also contains antioxidant compounds called proanthocyanadins. These are similar to the antioxidant compounds found in green tea and grapes. Coumarin-free Ceylon cinnamon may also be beneficial to the liver, according to studies reviewed by “BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine” in 2013, with no adverse effects to other organ systems. Other benefits may be antimicrobial and anti-parasitic activity, digestive health and blood pressure reduction.
Excerpt From “The Health Benefits of Ceylon vs. Cassia Cinnamon” By Janine Grant Jun 18, 2015 (http://www.livestrong.com/article/516598-the-health-benefits-between-ceylon-cinnamon-and-cassia/
Excellent compact brewer that does the job. Very pleased with the size since counter space is minimal here. Rock solid easy operation. Very well done product. Highly recommended.
This has worked great for me. Does drip some but ok because has drip pan.
You may want to check the difference in coffees effect using a french press , compared to drip
French press = higher triglycerides
what’s the very least can you put in it if you don’t have good butter or fats? Can you use olive oil?
I like to make keto-coffee with ghee, coconut oil, heavy cream, and an egg yolk (pastured). My wife buys our coffee beans fresh from a local roaster. We brew the coffee in a traditional Italian stove top cooker and then whip the ingredients in an electric blender. The result is strong, delicious, and starts my day with a clean energetic focus. 🙂
Great article Abel! I’ve been using fatCoffee when I make my coffee. Thanks for your great insight and suggestions. I look forward to reading more articles from you.
Are you able to use instant coffe to make your ” fatty coffee” ? Or can you only use beans?
Good afternoon my MCT oil give me heartburn for 2-3 hrs after taking it is there a substitute?
Thank you
Thanks for the info Abel. I’m gonna try the fatty coffee and I used your links to buy the Aeropress and some related items too from Amazon. I never knew about Aeropress until u recommended. Good stuff. Keep up the great work, my friend.
Hello. Would you still consider coffee with oatmeal milk a kind of fatty coffee?
Will splenda in my coffee break my fast? thanks