The Complete Skinny on Butter Coffee
I started drinking butter coffee about 3 years ago after reading about it on Dave Asprey's blog. He called it "Bulletproof" and with good reason. It's a powerful elixir designed to fuel your brain and your body!
Actually, from a brain food and Intermittent Fasting (IF) perspective, butter is not essential. There are dairy free options below so you can still get your fats in /=:-)
Butter coffee is particularly effective to drink in place of breakfast, keeping your evening fast going for a few more hours. But even with a real food breakfast, it's a wonderful energizing start to your day!
I explain all the basics to get you started in the video, along with the details about WHY you would put fats in your coffee!
Simple Butter Coffee recipe here!
Back when I was using an electric coffee pot, I'd put a stick of butter in my coffee pot every night so when the coffee brewed in the am, there would already be butter in it. Before pouring a cup, I'd put the stick blender in the pot and blend that all up. (NOTE: you have to do it each time before pouring a fresh cup because the butter will separate and float on top.)
NOW -- because of my personal war on plastic -- we make sock coffee, two or 3 cups at a time. We learned about sock coffee in Costa Rica: put a scoop of coffee in the sock, pour boiling water over it and your thermos fills with delicious brew!
To each cup, I add about a Tbsp of butter plus one or more of the following ingredients, then stick blend again in my cup on low for a sec to blend up the fats. Yummy and filling!
Btw, you are looking for good quality fats in your coffee, sweetener completely optional!
Butter Coffee Ingredients
How much of each ingredient? To taste, really. You want to work your way up to a good amount of fat in there to keep you feeling satisfied, not hungry or hangry, till your first meal.
Butter from (in order of preference): local grass-fed cows or Kerrygold or organic. Because butter is a superfood! We get just shy of a Tbsp in each cup.
MCT Oil ESSENTIAL for brain fuel and fat-burning! I use a Tbsp per cup. Completely flavorless.
Stevia (organic, with erythritol) -- for sweet
Heavy cream -- more good fats. I use the best I can find from the health food store. We have a local low-pasteurized, non-homogenized brand in a glass bottle here in KY, that's my first choice. If you don't have a local option, Snowville is a reputable brand.
Cocoa powder -- A little goes a loooooonnnng way, yummy!
Coconut Manna (organic, unsweetened) OMG this stuff is so good, high fat, low carb and VERY sweet! It does have a coconut taste.
Coconut Cream (unsweetened, organic) I've never used this but I have it in my cart to try! Lots of friends use this and love it.
Cacao Butter (organic, unsweetened) I love this stuff! When I first started using it, it tasted very greasy but I loved the flavor so I persevered. Just a few crumbs to start, a small chunk is plenty for me now. VERY healthy fat!!! (You can use on your skin, too.)
Cinnamon 1/4 tsp per cup, helps reverse insulin resistance and lower blood sugar
Start Slow!
Until you are fat-adapted (meaning you are digesting your fats with no digestive distress), adding fat to your coffee takes a little getting used to. If you suffer any digestive distress (which usually reveals itself as loose stools), back off and use less, work your way up to full "dose". It's a good idea to add ingredients one at a time and little by little. See how your stomach tolerates, then titrate up!
It's also a good idea to start slowly until you are taste-bud-adapted! Slow as in a tsp of butter OR MCT the first day and no other fats. And blend WELL. If your coffee tastes greasy, there are either too many fats in it or it's not blended well enough.
In either case, don't give up if you are not sold the first day: cut back on amounts, blend thoroughly and persevere. The payback is worth the effort!
Do you have other ideas for Butter Coffee? Please share them in the comments -- thank you!
