The Brew Coffee and Tap in Tyrone will soon offer mushroom coffee alongside their normal menu.
Shannon Rice, the shop's owner, said she’d heard about mushroom coffee and wanted to give it a try.
“I've seen it all over Facebook,” Rice said. “Like, all of my ads have pretty much been targeting me for mushroom coffee.”
She added a poll to the shop’s Facebook page to gauge interest. The results were mixed.
“Somebody said they tried it and it tastes like hot dog water,” Rice said. “I'm not disagreeing. Every brand tastes totally different. So the brand that they tried probably did. A lot of people are willing to at least try it, though.”
She decided there was enough interest to order some mushroom coffee and offer it in the shop. The bags contain powdered coffee with the mushrooms already mixed in.
“It's basically an instant coffee and the mushrooms are already ground into it,” Rice said.
Rice invited a friend to try out a cup before selling it to the public.
“It's a little bitter, but it's not as bad as I thought it was gonna be,” Christina Wiser said. “I don't really taste mushroom.”
Wiser ordered an iced coffee with salted caramel, which she said might have covered the mushroom taste. She said she’s been interested in trying mushroom coffee after seeing it trend online and reading about the potential health benefits.
“It's just something I always wanted to try, and I’m open to try new things, I guess,” Wiser said.
Brands selling mushroom coffee claim it’s a healthier alternative with less caffeine, antioxidants to support the immune system and slow aging, and compounds that could help prevent cancer. Some health experts say to take these claims with a grain of salt as there aren’t many studies to back up those claims, at least for humans.
Rice said mushroom coffee and matcha will likely have a 50 cent upcharge over normal coffee. She plans to officially add the mushroom drinks to the menu sometime next week.
