beverages,  featured,  g-rant

[g-rant] bulletproof coffee

Hello world.

I am so thankful to be the husband (hubs) and best friend (bestie) of sx2. Over our nearly nine years of marriage she has taken me on a food and sustainability journey that began with my buying products solely on what was most inexpensive to now taking an interest in the questions surrounding: what foods/chemicals/ingredients am I putting into my body, where and in what matter are they sourced, and what impact am I making by my choices?  This has now become a way of life and has led me to a love and curiosity of gardening which so excites me as it not only connects me to God’s creation, but also allows me to share a passion that my grandfather had (who sadly passed away while I was only six years old).  However, (insert sarcasm) the amount public flogging and ridicule that Sara has heaped upon me for not contributing any words on this SaraByTheSeason real estate has taken its toll, and so I am putting on my big boy blogging pants.

For my blogging debut, sx2 advised I focus on something near to my heart. After some deep introspection, I determined the topic should involve the following passions of mine: frugality, amazing coffee, physical fitness, and super hero powers. Enter “Bulletproof coffee.” I mean, if I can make a great cup of joe that I would have anyway, but have one instead that could potentially give me more sustained energy throughout the day (as claimed), and even perhaps make me a bulletproof super hero, super dad, and/or super hubs, I’m in and thought I would give it a try.

I first started hearing about Bulletproof coffee among some of the paleo jocks at the gym. The paleo craze intrigues me, so I did what all world class academic researchers do – I Googled it to see what I could learn regarding this special type of java. The Bulletproof story goes a little something like this. This dude Dave Asprey was hiking in the Tibetan mountains, and while near the point of complete exhaustion, he stumbled into this little mountain shack where other hikers were drinking yak butter tea with some locals. The Tibetan mountain men’s belief was that this concoction offered the pinnacle of rejuvenation. So Dave proceeded to spend ten years and a big wad of money (over $300k) to tweak the recipe and now offers a pretty trendy website and products. I will attempt to break down all you need to know about Bulletproof coffee and give you my final opinion on this new health craze.To begin, Dave Asprey is a marketing genius, and the claims are lofty on the website including that Bulletproof coffee “makes you feel lean, focused and energized and allows you to transform your diet without chewing on sticks and leaves like your dieting friends. You can lose up to 100 pounds without exercise, upgrade your IQ by more than ten points, and stay healthy sleeping on less than five hours of sleep.” They had my attention at eating sticks.

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I have altered the recipe slightly based on my preferences. What you need to make this proclaimed miracle latte is:

1 tbs Kerrygold unsalted grass-fed butter
1 tbs coconut oil
12 oz hot black organic coffee of choice
blender (Vitamix if you have one)

I happen to agree with many of Asprey’s main points regarding the ingredients of Bulletproof coffee. He argues that despite many people’s claims that they can’t tolerate coffee or feel crummy, wired, or undergo a crash after drinking it, it is not due to coffee itself, but rather the “type” of coffee they drank. Non-organic coffees are chalk full of chemicals referred to as mycotoxins that can make you feel weak, lethargic, and irritable. As an advocate for less chemicals in my life from the foods and beverages I eat and drink, I highly recommend this dark roast that we get from Costco, which serves as our normal everyday brew of choice. No chemicals, no added junk, no crash and/or nasty feeling.

Processed with VSCOcam with m5 presetThe next main ingredient that I have altered is substituting in natural coconut oil in place of MCT oil (medium chain triglycerides – think “fatty acids”). MCTs contain many health benefits and coconut oil contains 50 percent lauric acid which is the best known MCT and is prized as an antimicrobial agent. Asprey recommends MCT oil and specifically touts Bulletproof’s “High Octane” mix which supposedly provides hightened focus and energy. I however would prefer to source my MCTs naturally found in coconut oil which offers nature’s highest concentration of lauric acid (followed by breast milk which I would not recommend for your coffee) rather than machine processed MCT oil which many times only contains trace amounts of it. More information can be found here. Coconut oil is 100 percent natural and, almost as important to me, far less expensive than the manufactured MCT oil. (If you’re looking for a source for organic coconut oil, Sara’s favorite is from Tropical Traditions.)

photo 3 (1)The final ingredient is Kerrygold unsalted grass-fed butter (one of Sara’s top ten buys at Costco). Asprey is spot on regarding the natural health benefits of butter that comes from cows raised in a manner in which they were intended. One can see the difference as this butter is a rich golden yellow color versus the white “fake stuff” or butter from grain-fed cows. Kerrygold butter allows all the benefits of healthy milk fat without any of the damaging denatured cassein proteins found in cream.

So we have discussed the all natural products, the health reasons for selection, and story behind Bulletproof coffee, so now let’s make some and put it to the test.

  1. Brew 12 ounces of your favorite organic coffee and keep it black
  2. Add some boiling water into your blender and blend for 10-15 seconds to warm it up before adding the ingredients so the blender and blades don’t cool the coffee (empty water from blender afterwards)
  3. Put 1 tbs of Kerrygold butter and 1 tbs coconut oil into blender
  4. Pour your coffee on top and blend for 30 seconds (I usually do 15 seconds on a medium setting and the final 15 seconds on high to enhance the froth on top)
  5. Pour, enjoy, and see if you exhibit super hero powers

My verdict: Few simple things in life give me more pleasure than a great cup of hot black organic coffee. That said, I am a fan of this modified Bulletproof coffee recipe. Though I don’t intend to replace my daily cup of joe with this, I do like adding a day or two of Bulletproof coffee into the mix to spice things up. If you are not a fan of black coffee, you may really like the creamy flavor and frothiness of this brewing method. I have not noticed a more sustained energy level as opposed to my normal coffee and sx2 will attest that my brain capacity is absolutely not noticeably increasing. But I have enjoyed my more frugal version of Bulletproof coffee for an afternoon cup if I am starting to get hungry, and it seems to work quite well before a workout. Enjoy, and please share with me your thoughts and post stories of any interesting super powers that result!

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