I Switched My Americano For This Mushroom Coffee And It Stopped My Caffeine Jitters

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Since I finished my GCSEs (throwback), I’ve been drinking around four cups of coffee a day. 

I like to blame it on my five years of coffee shop shifts, but the truth is that every morning (and afternoon) I can’t help but top up my caffeine levels with just one more cup.

My addiction is so real that colleagues and friends have even commented on my intake, and when I get sick I find myself getting withdrawal headaches. You know the drill, I’m sure.

Until now, I haven’t minded so much. But I’m getting to the point in my life where I notice the impact that much caffeine has on me more than ever. 

I’m talking severe afternoon crashes, crazy caffeine jitters, an unwelcome boost to my anxiety and stomach issues, plus I need to pee a thousand times a day. To top it all off, my afternoon coffee habit means it often takes me a while to fall asleep at night.

Not to mention that I notice it impacts me differently at certain stages of my cycle. (Betcha didn’t know that taking the contraceptive pill makes you more sensitive to caffeine.)

So when I heard about London Nootropics’ mushroom coffee, I was curious to try it, especially as there is currently 20% off everything on their site with the code ‘HUFFPOST’.

Benefits of mushroom coffee

Thanks to being packed with adaptogens, London Nootropics promises their coffee won’t give you the same afternoon crash as regular coffee. 

Each of its blends includes a different combination of adaptogens to target specific concerns, like increasing energy, focus and mental clarity; reducing stress; and improving physical strength and endurance. 

While caffeine, by design, increases our alertness and makes us feel more awake, it can also boost our cortisol levels and make us feel more stressed and anxious – like anyone needs that.

It’s also absorbed into the bloodstream quickly, which is why it’s common to experience a caffeine crash.

However, London Nootropics claims that adding adaptogens like L-theanine, cordyceps, and ashwagandha could help to offset the more negative side effects of coffee while still making you feel more awake. 

How I tested London Nootropics

Determined to see if mushroom coffee could make a difference to my work week, I switched out my morning and afternoon coffees with London Nootropics for a week. 

I averaged around three coffees a day while drinking London Nootropics. Depending on how I felt each day, I chose between Mush Love (to ‘elevate your morning,’ with a blend of cordyceps and lion’s mane for energy and cognitive balance) and the Selection Box, which contains three different blends.

This includes:

• Flow: For ‘mental clarity and balance’ with a blend of lion’s mane and rhodiola;
• Mojo: For ‘endurance and vitality’ with a blend of cordyceps and siberian ginseng;
• Zen: For ‘calm and balance’ with a blend of l-theanine and ashwagandha.

Not one to disobey instructions, I reached for Mush Love for my first coffee of the morning, unless I was going to the gym or a Pilates class, when I drank Mojo. Zen and Flow were my drinks of choice for my post-lunch slump.

Review of London Nootropics mushroom coffee

One thing about me is I’m fussy about my coffee, so I was a little sceptical about whether or not I’d enjoy the taste of London Nootropics.

As a firm instant coffee avoider, it was slightly concerning that all blends come in a sachet. Once I tried it, though, my fears were eliminated.

Now, when I’m in the office I’m used to drinking a black americano from a coffee machine, which we all know is not exactly the pinnacle of good coffee.

While that isn’t really hard to beat, I can safely say this coffee tastes much betterthan that. It’s not quite as good as my preferred filter coffee, but the flavour is so inoffensive I didn’t feel drawn to add any milk or sugar like I’d thought I might have to.

Even more notable than that, I noticed my caffeine jitters completely disappeared. I was so used to that being a daily occurrence that I hadn’t stopped to think of it as concerning, nor had I considered that it was an option to drink coffee without feeling shaky afterwards.

But somehow, London Nootropics didn’t make me feel at all wobbly after drinking it, and I definitely noticed that I didn’t have an afternoon slump in the same way as I would with another black coffee.

I also drank less cups than I normally would as a result, because just one cup was enough to make me feel awake and more tapped in in the mornings thanks to not feeling quite so wired.

Another welcome and unexpected side effect was that I didn’t have to pee quite so much. That was a real blessing in disguise – I hadn’t realised how much the ramped up anxiety and need for pretty much hourly toilet breaks was getting to my head. 

Final verdict

Pros:

• Easy to make
• Reduced jitters
• No afternoon slump
• Can take it in your bag with you

Cons:

• I wish there was an option to make it in a French press
• More expensive than regular coffee you’d make at home

My favourite London Nootropics blend was Mush Love. It was the perfect start to my day, and if I still found myself needing another cup of coffee to wake up, Flow helped me get my head in the game. 

While I didn’t find myself reaching for Mojo quite so much, Zen was great for a post-lunch pick me up. I will almost certainly be refreshing my supply of London Nootropics, I just might need to cut down to just one of their sachets a day as they’re slightly more spenny than I would like for a cup of coffee. 

But with 20% off its whole site with the code ‘HUFFPOST’, and the impact it had on my overall wellbeing, it’s definitely worth it.