The future of coffee: when mushrooms invite itself in our espressos

Recommended in case of migraine, coffee nevertheless gives headaches to its most loyal consumers. Its price is soaring under the effect of global warming, while its production itself has a negative impact on the planet: deforestation and overconsumption of water mainly. In addition, excessive consumption (more than 5 cups of filter coffee per day) can be harmful to health and sleep.

As a result, espresso addicts are courted by a multitude of alternative drinks. The oldest on the market are made from chicory or barley seeds, but today, pioneering brands such as Bonjour, Bulk, Fraté Maté, French Mush, or Magic Lab are arriving, which sell ersatz coffee made from adaptogenic mushrooms, i.e. anti-stress.

However, don't imagine seeing chanterelles or porcini mushrooms replace the black coffee, these mushrooms have the exotic names of reishi, cordyceps, maitake and lion's mane and would bring benefits to our bodies. Thus, reishi is supposed to improve the quality of sleep thanks to its calming effects while cordyceps is known, on the contrary, for its energizing properties.

We tested Bonjour's "Coffee Flavour" beverage, enriched with chaga and cordyceps. All you have to do is pour a cup of hot water over a tablespoon of powder and then stir to obtain a drink very far from the competition ristretto, served at the counter of cafés in Rome or Turin. "Coffee Flavor" is brown like coffee, its name sounds like a coffee name, but it is not coffee, which we end up bitterly regretting. So what remains is a hot drink, no doubt comforting, which is a little reminiscent of freeze-dried coffee, but as far as sensations are concerned, the comparison ends there. As for the price of these drinks, count between €1 and €1.5 per cup compared to less than €0.20 per cup with ground coffee. Espresso isn't dead yet.