Super Coffee. How to boost your morning brew

Are you a black americano, frothy capp or perhaps an oat milk, decaf latte kind of person? One shot or two? Sugar or sugar-free?

Coffee, the early energy booster of choice for many of us, has us all getting that touch more creative, experimental and even perhaps a touch fussy? Regardless of your go-to, we each have our chosen ways for getting the best out of our morning brew.

One of the new trends on the rise is how to get even more out of your daily cuppa. Forget alternative milks or froth to cream ratio, the new buzz entails pimping your coffee with everything from sprinkling ‘superfoods’ in place of chocolate to adding herbs and mushrooms to the mix!

Here at MEDA, we are all for nutritional boosts and using the power of herbs and nutrients to optimise our health. With that in mind, if you want to enhance your morning coffee, our nutritionist, Clarissa has shared her top super coffee add-ins.

COLLAGEN

Collagen not only gives us a dose of protein, but it can also help with skin, joint and digestive health. Adding collagen to your cup of coffee in the morning can help balance our blood sugar levels and therefore our energy. This can be a good option for those who find they slump in energy quite quickly after coffee or who find that caffeine causes overstimulation.

Collagen is tasteless and doesn’t change the texture of your drink when you stir or blend it in. Most collagen powders come from bovine sources, so if you are vegetarian, reach for a marine collagen source. Our favourite is Planet Paleo powders (they come in on-the-go sachets too) found here. 

MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS

Medicinal mushrooms such as cordyceps, reishi and chaga are famed for being fantastic for immunity, stamina and importantly, energy. Adding them to your morning brew can help offset the jittery effects of coffee and give you an additional energy lift. However, we are not saying that you need to source some wild mushrooms from your back garden and smoothie them into your coffee! You can now get your hands on medicinal mushroom blends which you can easily add into your coffee (without the mushroom taste). We love four sigmatic mushroom coffee mix found here.

L-THEANINE

Caffeine is great for concentration, improving attention and focus. The downsides can be increased heart rate, blood pressure, and anxious / jittery feelings. Inserting L-Theanine, an amino acid can help counteract some of these side effects.

L Theanine, also known as a nootropic (cognitive enhancer) is a relaxant that can reduce heart rate and blood pressure, improve concentration and promoting alpha brain waves (associated with relaxation).And when combined with caffeine there is a potential pronounced synergistic effect. This means you can experience intensified focus, awareness and energy, alongside reduced stress and improved mental endurance. 

For your daily dose of L-Theanine, check out our MEDA CALM drink which also infuses chamomile and ashwagandha for extra de-stressing.