An Honest Review of “Bulletproof Coffee” (i.e., putting butter and coconut oil in your coffee)

I love coffee. When I was pregnant, I gave it up. But I’d still indulge in a decaf latte with my husband at our favorite local coffee shop every once in awhile. After I gave birth, I went right back to drinking coffee and I drank a lot of it those first few weeks. When I started drinking coffee, I added sugar or some artificial and some flavored creamer. The result was a lightly colored, very creamy, sweet cup. Eventually I cut out the sugar and sweeteners. I started enjoying the flavor of the actual coffee more and more. Then I cut out the creamer and started taking my coffee with just a splash of regular ol’ dairy milk or almond milk, which is how I drink it every morning.

And I mean, every morning. It’s not an indulgence. It’s a necessity around these parts. Wake up, stagger to kitchen, brew cup of coffee, enjoy with family while sitting around the kitchen table in pajamas. I love the warmth, the taste, my cute little coffee mugs, the ritual. I love me some coffee.

I recently heard about a new coffee trend that sounded… interesting to me. It’s gaining momentum in the natural living community as well as Keto and Paleo enthusiasts and self-proclaimed “bio-hackers”. The recipes vary, but the basic gist is that you put butter and coconut oil in your coffee. It’s supposed to be delicious, have great health benefits, give you more energy and most people claim you’ll never go back to drinking coffee the same way.

So, I said, “Ok. I’ll be your huckleberry” and decided to try it this morning. It sounds super weird, but butter is basically cream without water, right? And coconut oil is tasty and super nutritious and I have been curious about putting it in coffee. .

I found this recipe and gave it a shot. I made it just as the recipe states, without the optional Stevia. I had Kerrygold grass-fed butter on hand (doesn’t “grass-fed butter” sound like butter than eats grass?), coconut oil and pure Vanilla extract.

I poured the hot coffee in my Magic Bullet cup and then added the coconut oil and butter.

Once I blended it for about 25 seconds or so, it was nice and creamy with a pretty layer of froth on the top.

It looked really good– creamy and frothy like a latte. I took a sip and… BLEH. Awful. I thought I was still hung up on the sheer weirdness of butter and coconut oil in my coffee. I tried again, a little better, but still pretty gross.

I figured the vanilla was the issue since I don’t typically put anything flavored in my coffee. I wasn’t going to force myself to drink it, so I decided to just make another one without the vanilla. That was considerably better, but it still wasn’t delicious, in my opinion. It was drinkable and I drank the entire cup. (For science.)

Am I hooked? Were the claims that I’ll never drink my coffee the same way again true? No. In fact, I think this is my first and likely last experience with “Bulletproof” coffee. I however would be willing to try coffee with a splash of milk and some coconut oil blended again. I do believe in the benefits of consuming coconut oil and I think the taste is mild enough that it would be good. I’m also a fan of butter and I regularly use butter– the real stuff– while cooking and do believe it’s better for my family than margarine or some “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” (I always believed it wasn’t…). But I, personally, don’t believe in the health benefits of butter SO much that I’ll add it to my beverages or use it to replace a meal.

Dave Asprey’s Bulletproof Coffee recipe was an early Google hit when I searched for “butter, coconut oil, coffee”. I read the recipe and the background story in a hipster Billy May’s voice. I felt like it should be in all caps. Like, “HEY. YOU’LL LOVE MY BULLETPROOF COFFEE RECIPE. GIVES YOU SO. MUCH. ENERGY. AND FOOOOOOOOCUS!!!” It sounded like he was selling me something and as I read on, I could see he was. Asprey trademarked “Bulletproof” coffee and sells his own beans which he claims is the lowest toxin and highest performance coffee there is. (It’s also expensive, super expensive.) He makes some big claims including that the recipe greatly improves cognitive function, fights cancer (seriously…) and provides antioxidants.

As I continued to read, my bullshit meter was just going off the charts. I’m a big believer in balance with anything and while I believe in “real foods”, starting your day with a cup of saturated fat and NOTHING else (no actual food) just doesn’t make sense to me. Then I stumbled across this blog, which debunked many of Asprey’s claims and clearly explained why only having Bulletproof coffee for breakfast is generally not a good idea and is definitely not going to cure what ales you. She also offers an alternative recipe, which frankly just sounds better.

In the time I’ve written this post, I should have felt the energy boost provided by the “Bulletproof” coffee. I don’t feel any more energized than I normally do after drinking a cup of coffee. I do, however, feel a bit sick to my stomach.

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