Recently you may have noticed the trend of bulletproof coffee.
Table Of Contents
−- History of butter in coffee
- Adding butter to your coffee
- Why do people drink butter with coffee?
- Butter coffee benefits
- Butter coffee downsides
- So what does butter in coffee taste like?
- What is the difference between Butter coffee vs. Bulletproof coffee?
- Butter coffee recipe
- Creamy Butter Coffee Recipe
- The Original Grass-Fed Ghee
- Add additional flavor to your butter coffee.
- Common mistakes to avoid when brewing coffee
- How to balance your daily diet
- Conclusion
So, what is this all about bulletproof coffee?
First, it is a coffee that improves mental clarity and helps weight loss while boosting your energy levels. It is blended with grass-fed butter and MCT oil, and it is popular among those on the keto diet because of its healthy fats.
Read our article if you are confused about what grass-fed coffee is.
History of butter in coffee
While many believe butter coffee is a modern invention, it’s been used throughout history.
Many cultures and societies, such as Himalayan Sherpas and Ethiopian Gurage, have been drinking butter coffee and butter tea for centuries.
People living in these high-altitude regions add butter for energy to their coffee or tea to raise their calorie intake.
In addition, people in Nepal, India’s Himalayan regions, and some places in China typically drink yak-buttered tea. In Tibet, butter tea, or pocha, is a traditional daily drink.
Adding butter to your coffee
There is much information about adding butter to your cup of coffee. Unfortunately, some of this information is confusing. You will find some posts recommending adding butter, others disapproving of using butter, and those that shed no light. So now the big question is, is adding butter to your coffee healthy or another trend driven by false claims?
This post takes you through the benefits and risks of adding butter to your coffee cup. So, keep reading to learn more. Ready to learn more? Let’s get started?
Why do people drink butter with coffee?
Butter coffee is said to delay the energy spike associated with regular coffee drinking and make drinkers feel full for as long as six hours. Fans of butter in coffee say it’s a brain food that boosts mental acuity and concentration. In addition, it is expected to suppress appetite, aid weight loss, and even boost skin tone and complexion.
Butter coffee benefits
Here’s the breakdown of what happens when you drink coffee and butter:
- Mental clarity
Butter coffee is said to boost mental clarity and improve cognitive function. If you are on keto, your livers convert MCTs into ketones, a vital source of energy for brain cells, eventually resulting in mental focus and alertness.
- Energy
Butter has the potential to supply steady, long-lasting energy without a blood sugar crash. The fat in butter results in slow caffeine intake; hence, you get long-lasting energy. In addition, it is good to note fat slows digestion, thus slowing the rate at which caffeine is absorbed.
- Loss of weight
The ability of butter to control appetite is what make it contributes to weight loss. So, if on a diet, you adding butter to your coffee will not disappoint.
Really? You can lose weight?!
It has something to do with your liver’s role in digestion. The butter and MCT oil kick your liver into gear, where it slowly breaks down the triglycerides of the medium-chain.
Since processing the coffee in your system takes longer, the caffeine gives you a longer, smoother lift. Butter coffee drinkers say their feeling of completeness is uncanny–until lunchtime, no hunger creeps on you. Butter coffee drinkers say they want to eat smaller meals later in the day because of this.
Eating two tablespoons of fat for breakfast forces people to be more aware of the fats and oils they eat during the rest of the day. In addition, coconut oil supports your body’s high-density lipoprotein (HDL) production–the so-called good cholesterol.
- Improve skin tone and complexion
Continuous use of butter in coffee will improve your skin tone and appearance. This is because it contains fatty acids and vitamins A, which brings a natural glow to your face.
Butter coffee downsides
Though there are many notable benefits of taking butter coffee, there are also some downsides. Below are some of the reasons why you should avoid butter coffee.
- Miss other vital nutrients: Enjoying a cup of butter coffee supplies your body with many calories. Getting a lot of calories from one source automatically results in you missing other healthy nutrients like vitamins, fiber, and minerals from other sources.
- Stomach discomfort: The high amount of fat in butter can lead to stomach discomfort such as bloating and diarrhea, mainly if not used to consuming high amounts of fats.
- Life-threatening diseases: Consuming large amounts of saturated fat can raise the level of cholesterol in the blood. High cholesterol increases the risks of stroke and heart disease.
- Displaces key nutrients: Butter coffee also displaces other essential nutrients like protein and vitamins when taken as an alternative breakfast. Remember your need all nutrients to live a healthy life.
So what does butter in coffee taste like?
It’s like drinking a thick, frothy latte if you mix it instead of stirring (which you should). But even butter coffee fanatics note that once you’ve sipped all the froth off the top, you won’t look down into the mug. Butter coffee is not meant for your eyes to taste first. So don’t be turned off by all those small droplets of fat that float in your mug you look at it.
What is the difference between Butter coffee vs. Bulletproof coffee?
Butter coffee is a drink consisting of brewed coffee, unsalted butter, and medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), a type of fat that is easily digested.
It’s similar to the Bulletproof coffee that an entrepreneur named Dave Asprey has made. Asprey’s Bulletproof coffee uses a particular coffee bean, a high MCT liquid, and grass-fed, unsalted butter.
Butter coffee is a do-it-yourself (DIY) version of Bulletproof coffee that requires no special beans of coffee or MCT oil. Instead, coffee with unsalted butter and coconut oil will work, which is a good MCT source.
Butter coffee is often consumed by those who follow a keto diet, high in fat and low in carbs, instead of breakfast.
Butter coffee recipe
There are many butter coffee recipes on the web you may want to consider. You can as well DIY your recipe. Below is a simple DIY you can try at home.
Creamy Butter Coffee Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp ghee (butter) and salt
- 1 cup filtered black coffee
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 pinch of ground cinnamon
Directions
- Brew some black filtered coffee. Avoid French Press coffee as you will get sediment.
- Add coffee, butter, and coconut oil to a blender.
- Let the mix sit with the lid OFF for 2 mins to reduce heat
- Blend, pour, enjoy. Garnish with cinnamon if desired
Butter coffee nutrition
A regular 8-ounce (237-ml) cup of coffee with 2 tablespoons of both coconut oil and unsalted butter contains:
- Calories: 445
- Carbs: 0 grams
- Total fat: 50 grams (85% of the fat in butter coffee is saturated fat)
- Protein: 0 grams
- Fiber: 0 grams
- Sodium: 9% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
- Vitamin A: 20% of the RDI
The Original Grass-Fed Ghee
While some studies have linked saturated fat to increased heart disease risk factors, such as high LDL cholesterol, research suggests that saturated fat does not lead directly to heart disease (1, 2, 3).
Nonetheless, the amount of saturated fat in butter coffee is excessively high for just one cup.
Research shows that you can reduce the risk of heart disease by replacing some of the saturated fats in your diet with polyunsaturated fats. For example, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring, or tuna (Source) are high in polyunsaturated fats.
Butter coffee contains other important nutrients, including vitamin A, besides its high-fat content. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin needed for health, immune function, good skin, and vision (Source).
While butter coffee also contains minute quantities of calcium, vitamins K and E, and several B vitamins, these nutrients are not a good source.
Add additional flavor to your butter coffee.
If you want to add more flavor to your butter coffee, add some unsweetened cocoa powder. Or why not try cinnamon or pumpkin spice? If you like adding sugar to your coffee, add some stevia.
Common mistakes to avoid when brewing coffee
- Shaking rather than blending
The right way of preparing butter coffee is blending for 30 seconds as this help emulsify the fats with the water-based coffee. If you shake instead of blending, be prepared to see fat separating at the top of your cup.
- Using Low-Quality Butter
This is straightforward. You don’t add low-quality butter and expect great results, no. So make sure to buy quality butter.
- Adding Too Much Coconut Oil
We have already seen adding too much fat can result in stomach discomfort. The best approach is starting with a small amount and then adding used butter to your cup of coffee as you get used butter.
How to balance your daily diet
When you want to try to enjoy butter coffee, make sure to keep balance in mind.
For optimal daily nutrition intake, make sure to add in extra fat, fruits, and vegetables. Additionally, you can reduce your fat consumption at other meals throughout your day. Unless you adopt a keto diet, keep your fat intake controlled for the rest of the day.
Butter coffee is high in saturated fat, so prioritizing mono- and polyunsaturated fat sources like avocados, nuts, beans, and fish oil for the rest of the day is a good idea.
To those adopting a ketogenic diet, remember there are many highly nutritious, keto-friendly foods, such as eggs, avocado, and cooked spinach in coconut oil. In addition, you can choose from butter coffee and give your body the nutrients it deserves.
Conclusion
Adding butter to your cup of coffee has many benefits. From boosting your energy to improving mental clarity, you can’t miss grabbing a cup of butter every morning. But also remember that excessive use of butter coffee can hurt your health.
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Disclosure: No compensation or free products were received in exchange for writing this review.
Editorial Staff
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