Bulletproof Coffee

Bulletproof Coffee
Private
Industry Beverages, coffee
Founded 2009
Founder Dave Asprey
Headquarters United States
Number of locations
 1 (2015)
Area served
 Worldwide
Products Upgraded coffee
Website Bulletproof Coffee

Bulletproof Coffee is a branded coffee drink consisting of "Upgraded" black coffee blended with grass-fed butter and "Brain Octane oil" (an 8-carbon fraction of medium-chain triglyceride oil).[1] The recipe was created by Dave Asprey and first posted to his blog in 2009.[2] Asprey claims that the drink boosts cognitive performance and weight loss, and it has been consumed by sportspeople[3] and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.[2][4]

History

David Asprey developed his Bulletproof Coffee recipe after traveling to Tibet and tasting yak-butter tea drinks. He returned to the United States and experimented with buttered drink recipes and published the preparation for his buttered coffee drink on his blog in 2009.[2][5] Coffee Drinks made with butter and other forms of fat have been in use for centuries by people from the Himalayas, Ethiopia, Nepal, Vietnam, and Singapore.[6][7]

In 2014 Bulletproof Coffee was featured on shows such as Good Morning America,[8] Today[9] and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,[10] and had a following of over three million consumers.[11] By 2015, Bulletproof was operating with 20 employees and had over six million unique visitors to its website. The stand-alone Bulletproof Cafe opened in Los Angeles that same year.[5][12]

Preparation

Asprey's recipe calls for brewing coffee with "upgraded" beans which Aspry claims are low in mycotoxins. To this 1–2 tablespoons of grass-fed, unsalted butter (or ghee) and 1–2 tablespoons of "Brain Octane" oil (a mostly 8-carbon octanoic acid fraction of MCT oil) are added.[13] The drink is then blended for 20–30 seconds until frothy.[14]

Health claims

Asprey has claimed that when used in combination with other "health hacks," the coffee helped to boost his IQ score by more than 20 points.[2] His company claims that Bulletproof Coffee can aid cognition and trigger weight loss through ketosis.[15]

Dietitians point out there is no scientific basis for these claims, and that any sense of alertness from Bulletproof Coffee is "just a caffeine buzz."[15] Some naturopaths like Dr. Frank Lipman[16] and Dr. Andrew Weil[17] believe that, when combined with a balanced diet, drinking buttered coffee could be healthy and "might give you a bit more energy than your everyday cup."[14][18]

Asprey claims that most coffee beans contain high levels of mycotoxins and that this "steals your mental edge and actually makes you weak." He sells a brand of "upgraded" beans which are advertised as having undergone a secret, proprietary process to reduce mycotoxin levels.[19][20] Physician David Bach has observed that coffee producers are already good at removing mycotoxins from their product, and that there is no evidence to support Asprey's claim that mycotoxins make people "sluggish".[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Why People Are Putting Butter In Their Coffee". The Huffington Post.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Bulletproof Coffee, The New Power Drink Of Silicon Valley". Fast Company.
  3. ↑ "Nutrition in the NBA; Part I: Lessons learned in L.A. help Howard's career". CBSSports.com.
  4. ↑ Katie Mickle (February 26, 2015). "The Buzz Behind Bulletproof Coffee". Shape Magazine. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Jill Kransy (January 29, 2015). "Turning the 'Bulletproof' Coffee Craze Into a Big Brand". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  6. ↑ "What's the Deal with Butter in Coffee?". The Kitchn. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  7. ↑ "Tradition Turned Trendy: Exploring the Origins of Butter Beverages". Food & Nutrition. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  8. ↑ "Can Adding Butter to Your Coffee Help You Lose Weight?". ABC News. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  9. ↑ Rao, Vidya (8 June 2015). "Breakfast with the Bacon Brothers, served with bacon puns and bulletproof coffee". Today - Food. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "Shailene Woodly is a Bulletproof Coffee Fan". NBC. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  11. ↑ Abigail Forget (December 15, 2014). "Latest Coffee Trend is to put Butter in your Coffee". Fox News. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  12. ↑ Lynch, Rene (24 April 2015). "Bulletproof opening butter coffee cafe in Santa Monica". LA Times. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "Bulletproof Coffee: is adding butter to your coffee a good way to start the day?". The Independent.
  14. 1 2 Adam Hadhazy (January 28, 2015). "Should You be Drinking Bulletproof Coffee?". Men's Journal. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  15. 1 2 "How ‘Superfoods’ Like Bulletproof Coffee Get Popular". Healthline.
  16. ↑ Courtney Rubin (December 12, 2014). "The Cult of the Bulletproof Coffee". The New York Times. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  17. ↑ Alana Kakoyiannis (October 18, 2014). "The One Thing You Can Add To Coffee For Even More Energy In The Morning". Business Insider. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  18. ↑ Andrew Weil (April 4, 2013). "Q and A Library: Should I Drink Bulletproof Coffee?". Weil Lifestyle. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  19. ↑ Megroz, Gordy (21 April 2015). "Make You Invincible. And This Man Very Rich". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  20. ↑ Ogilvie, Jessica P. (8 June 2015). "David Asprey Wants You To Drink Coffee With Butter. Some Dismiss His Science (Video)". LA Weekly. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  21. ↑ Khan, Amir (24 December 2014). "The Bulletproof Diet Is Anything But". US News. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
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