Two ways to start the morning

Mello comes in two blends and people often ask which one to start with. The honest answer is that they are more alike than they look. Same six mushrooms, same 48mg of caffeine a serve, same scoop, same no added sugar. What differs is the thing the mushrooms are carried in, and that changes how the cup feels.

Mushroom coffee: a medium dark arabica roast

Mushroom Coffee is a medium dark roast arabica. It tastes like coffee first, because it is coffee first. The mushrooms sit behind the coffee as a bit of extra depth, and the coconut milk and MCT oil round it off so nothing sweet is needed. The caffeine arrives the way coffee caffeine does, reasonably quickly, but at half a double shot it arrives without the spike, and without the slump that follows a spike.

It is the one to reach for if you already drink coffee every morning and want to keep the ritual while dialling the intensity down.

Mushroom matcha: ceremonial grade with L-theanine

Mushroom Matcha is ceremonial grade matcha, stone ground and fully soluble, with the same six mushrooms in it. Matcha carries its caffeine differently. It comes with L-theanine, an amino acid found in tea, and the two together are why matcha drinkers describe the lift as calmer and longer than coffee. There is no roast and no acidity, so it sits lightly first thing.

It is the one for people who find coffee a little sharp, or who want a second cup in the afternoon without it following them into the evening.

Mushroom coffee or mushroom matcha: how to choose

• If you love coffee and want to keep it: the coffee.
• If coffee sometimes makes you jittery or unsettles your stomach: the matcha.
• If you want one for the morning and one for later: both, which is why most people end up with the two.

Whichever you choose, the mushrooms are identical, so you are not trading anything away.