Everyday’s Greatest Coffee Shops: Start Here (2026)

Two a years ago, someone gave me a sample of mushroom coffee at the farmers market. “Is it coffee and mushrooms?” I asked. No, the seller explained that it was just “coffee” made from mushrooms. I took a sip and immediately wondered if I was drinking undiluted mud.

Fortunately, not all mushroom coffee tastes like this. Other ingredients include real coffee along with active mushrooms such as lion’s mane and chaga; others combine mushroom extracts with adaptogens, probiotics, and nootropics. Few of them taste close to the real thing.

Mushroom coffee is also worth more than your bag of beans. So if you’ve been dying to find out what’s going on but don’t want to commit to full price, Prime Day is a great time to give it a try. WIRED reviewer Pete Cottell has spent years testing mushroom coffees ranging from funky to “Chex Mix mixed with bong water,” and it’s the cheap options that earned him his endorsement.

Also be sure to browse our roundup of The absolute best deal on Prime Day.

Mushroom Coffee That Tastes Like Coffee

This is one of the best mushroom blends Pete’s tried—with real coffee beans and brain-healthy lion’s mane and rhodiola for anxiety, and he rated it a solid 8.6 out of 10. Sure, it tasted like preground grocery store coffee, but things could have been worse. Too bad. He also enjoyed the extra protein, which he usually does it runs about $20.

For Total Focus

Four Sigmatic’s mushroom coffee is unique because it is a dark roast – most coffee blends are medium roast. Pete also appreciated the lack of cigar-and-bowling-alley aftertaste, describing Four Sigmatic as “hugging an old friend after weeks of drinking black dirt.” It carries lion’s teeth and jaws for mental clarity and strength.

Smooth and Mild

Pete is an aficionado of gas coffee, and this powder reminded him of his favorite product of Sheetz-which is especially available “vanilla latte” served by one of the presses-in the best way. It’s sweet and low in caffeine (22 milligrams; a cup of regular coffee has 95 milligrams), plus it’s loaded with antioxidants and magnesium and ashwagandha and lion’s mane.

Fun and Unpretentious

“Unpleasant” is more appreciated than you can imagine mushroom coffee, especially in the form of soluble powder. Pete thought that this combination, full of lion’s mane, ashwagandha, and cordyceps, gave a strong coffee-like experience, with the powder completely dissolved and leaving behind a small amount of sediment.