Discovering Bulletproof Coffee
It was a little over five years ago; I had started traveling back and forth to Dallas, TX, frequently. During one of those visits, I went out with a friend, Shawn, and his partner Sue for some trail runs at Cedar Ridge. When we went out to a cafe after I witnessed the most bizarre thing, Shawn was putting butter and coconut oil in his coffee. He stirred it in, and I watched as the oily fat swirled around the coffee mug. It looked kind of gross.
That First Taste – Blended Not Stirred
At this stage of my life, I had prided myself on not becoming like everyone else in America and was proud of the fact I did not start my mornings with coffee. When we got back to my partner-at-the-time’s place, we decided we wanted to try it. The next morning we took a tablespoon of grass-fed butter and a tablespoon of coconut oil and a dash of cinnamon, and we added it to a dark roast coffee. We decided to blend it because the stirred concoction didn’t look all that pleasant.
After a quick blend in the NutriBullet, it was to our surprise that drink came out looking like some fancy thing they make at Starbucks. Except, unlike a Starbucks, this was far far more delicious than anything I’ve ever tasted from that corporate giant.
From that moment on, I was hooked. Of course, it was not just the taste alone that sold me on it. It was the perceived benefits.
After some quick research and discovering where this coffee trend came from, and reading about how Dave Asprey, the founder of Bulletproof Coffee, discovered this formula while at 18,000’ in Tibet after a Sherpa gave him a tea made with yak butter, he claims it made him feel “rejuvenated”, I decided why not give this a shot for a month and see how it makes me feel.
After all, isn’t that what food and drink consumption are all about? It’s about finding the things that work best for you. For me, I want to perform at my best, and that means whatever I consume shouldn’t make me feel sluggish or bloated or any of that. It should give me energy and fuel my body for activity.
So what did I discover after that first month?
The Benefits of Drinking Bulletproof Coffee in the Morning
- Less hunger in the morning
- Promotes mental clarity and focus
- Sustainable energy – no energy spike followed by a crash
- Support your hormones
- Increased fat burning
- Tastes creamy and absolutely delicious ?
What I Learned from Drinking Bulletproof Coffee for 5 Years
Fast forward five years later, and I’m still drinking this stuff every morning. Now, many of you may be wondering what the long term effects of having one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of coconut oil every day are?
With anyone, it will depend on a myriad of factors, most importantly, whatever else it is your consuming daily but also what you’re outputting. If you’re drinking this daily and sitting all day every day, the results won’t be in your favor. But if you eat healthily and workout and get your cardio in regularly, you’ll have found a way to enhance your mornings.
I’ve been experimenting with diets and subtle changes for a couple of decades now. And now, when I make these changes, I often rely on InsideTracker to paint a clear picture of what that change is doing to my body. While this drink is mostly associated with the Keto diet, I prefer to have it as part of my low-carb diet. Basically, I limit my overall carb intake but not as dramatically as you would on the ketogenic diet. In my tests, I have found that my cholesterol remains constant and in a very healthy ratio and range. A healthy ratio is important because many articles out there claim that drinking this concoction will raise your cholesterol (in a negative way), and that’s not necessarily true. We are all different. Our bodies are entirely different and react differently. Want to know if what you’re doing is working? Get your blood tested.
After five years of drinking this magical concoction, I can say that it’s my favorite thing in the morning. I love the slow release of caffeine that I experience as a result it binding with the fats from the butter and oil. I went from someone who hated coffee and even looked down on the masses for consuming so much of it to becoming a full-fledged dark roast connoisseur. I still only drink one cup a day, and honestly, that’s all you’ll ever need. If you don’t like coffee, caffeinated black tea or green tea works just as well.
How to Make Bulletproof Coffee
If you want to try the bulletproof method in your coffee, here’s a quick outline of how I make mine.
- Select your favorite Dark Roast (recently I’ve become a massive fan of Alma de la Tierra by Peet’s Coffee)
- Brew your beloved Dark Roast (I have a ninja coffee maker and always use the “rich” setting)
- Add one tablespoon of grass-fed butter to your mixing cup (Kerrygold is my go-to, you can also use ghee)
- Add one tablespoon of coconut oil or MCT Oil. (MCT Oil in a lot of ways is more expensive coconut oil, I don’t think it’s a necessary expense)
- Add a dash of cinnamon (or nutmeg)
- Optional fun flavors to play with:
- Add a teaspoon of cocoa powder
- Or a splash of vanilla
- Or both, have fun with your coffee and experiment a little
- Blend to perfection
- Enjoy your delicious frothy, creamy coffee that looks better than any latte you’ll ever get from Starbucks
Have you drunk Bulletproof Coffee?
Do you like it? How does it make you feel?
Let me know in the comments!