How to make mushroom coffee taste better: milk, sweetness, ratios and the mistakes to avoid
Most complaints about mushroom coffee come down to the same handful of causes: the wrong water temperature, powder that never fully dissolved, a milk that fights the blend, or a serve that is too weak for the cup. None of them are about the mushrooms. This is the list we send anyone who writes to say their first cup was not quite right, in the order that fixes the most people.
1. Use water just off the boil, not boiling
Instant coffee of any kind tastes harsher at a full rolling boil. Let the kettle sit for 30 seconds before pouring. For Mello Mushroom Coffee that takes the sharp edge off the roast and lets the coconut milk in the blend do its job. For the matcha the rule is stricter: about 80 degrees, which is a kettle left for two minutes, because boiling water scalds matcha and makes it bitter.
2. Make a paste first
The single biggest fix. Put the scoop in the mug, add two tablespoons of hot water, and stir until it is a smooth, glossy paste with no dry powder clinging to the sides. Then add the rest of the water or milk. Powder that goes straight into 200ml of liquid can leave a fine layer at the bottom, and that layer is where the earthy taste people complain about lives. Dissolve it properly and it disappears into the cup.
3. Get the ratio right
One level 6g scoop to 200ml is the standard. If the cup tastes thin, you are probably using a heaped scoop of water and a level scoop of powder; try 150ml instead. If it tastes strong or earthy, go to 250ml. Do not double the scoop to fix a weak cup; two scoops is about 96mg of caffeine and the mushroom note becomes noticeable. Adjust the water, not the powder.
4. Pick a milk that carries it
The coffee blend already contains coconut milk and MCT oil, so it has body on its own and does not need a heavy milk. Oat is the best match, full cream dairy is fine, almond makes it thin. The matcha is more sensitive: oat or full cream dairy, and avoid rice and almond, which make it watery. Our mushroom latte guide has the full milk by milk list and the iced versions.
5. Sweeten the right way, if at all
Neither blend has added sugar, and most people find they do not need any once the paste step is done. If you want sweetness, add it at the paste stage so it dissolves: a teaspoon of honey, maple or a pinch of a sweetener you already use. A splash of vanilla extract in the coffee, or a little more milk in the matcha, does the same job for a lot of people without any sugar at all. Sugar stirred into a finished cold latte sinks and does nothing.
6. Let your palate settle for a week
This one is honest rather than clever. A mushroom coffee is not a cafe double shot and does not pretend to be. It is a medium roast with a little extra body and a slight savoury depth, at about half the caffeine. If you have been drinking strong flat whites, the first few cups can taste mild. Almost everyone who gives it a week stops noticing, and a lot of them stop wanting the flat white. If you get to day ten and it still is not for you, that is what the 30 day money back guarantee is for, and we would rather refund you than argue.
Mistakes that make it worse
Cold milk straight onto dry powder. Boiling water on the matcha. A heaped scoop into a small cup. Stirring for two seconds and walking away. Making it in a takeaway cup with a lid so you cannot see whether it has dissolved. Any of these gives you sediment, and sediment is what earthy tastes like.
What good tastes like
The coffee should taste like a smooth medium roast with a rounder body than instant, no bitterness, no visible sediment, and a savoury note you only notice if you go looking for it. The matcha should taste grassy, slightly sweet, smooth, with the pink salt taking the bitter edge off. Our mushroom coffee vs regular coffee article sets out what to expect against a cafe cup.
The caffeine is not the fix
People sometimes reach for a second scoop because the cup feels gentler than a coffee. That is the point; each serve is about 48mg of caffeine, about half a double shot, and it is meant to arrive gradually. Fix the taste with the six steps above, not with more powder. The six mushrooms in the blend, Cordyceps, Reishi, King Trumpet, Shiitake, Turkey Tail and Lion's Mane, are listed on the pack as one blend and what the research does and does not show is on our research pages.
Who should sit it out
Anyone with a mushroom allergy should avoid both blends. The coffee blend contains coconut milk and MCT oil, so anyone with a coconut allergy should choose the matcha or skip both. Anyone pregnant, breastfeeding, on medication or managing a medical condition should check with a GP or pharmacist before adding a mushroom extract to their routine.
The short version
Water just off the boil, paste first, one scoop to 200ml, oat or full cream milk, sweeten at the paste stage if at all, and give it a week. That fixes almost every cup that tasted wrong. Both pouches are 30 serves, ship free Australia wide and carry a 30 day money back guarantee if it turns out not to be your cup.