If you have no clue what nootropic coffee is or think it’s coffee sourced from somewhere the “tropics”, you’re certainly not alone. Nootropic coffee or smart coffee is a specific type of coffee that is designed to improve cognitive function while fulfilling your coffee fix. In this article we take a look at everything you need to know about nootropic coffee, what it is, why it’s good, and of course, what the best nootropic coffees of 2024 are. We even offer our take on the best nootropic cold brew as well.
As one hard core coffee lover to another, I can say nootropic coffee has helped improved my quality of life during the last 5 years. It’s with this in mind, that we’ve put together the following guide based some of our personal experiences with these extraordinary coffees.
For those who already know what nootropic coffee is and just want some personal recommendations on the best nootropic coffee out there, take a look below.
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If you want to skip our recommendations and learn more about what Nootropic is. Click here
Grateful Earth
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We came across Grateful Earth Coffee not long ago and it didn’t take us long to fully appreciate just how effective, convenient, and enjoyable this nootropic coffee is. This is in fact instant coffee but please don’t let that fact cause you to write off this product. This incredibly tasty coffee rivals specialty-grade coffee which is saying a lot given that it’s instant and full of nootropics. It includes Turmeric, Cinnamon, Lion’s Mane, Chaga, L-Theanine, and Black Pepper to help boost energy, focus, and creativity. Check out our Grateful Earth Coffee review for additional information.
On the coffee side, it’s a unique blend of gourmet Arabica and Robusta beans which yields a slightly sweet flavor that’s packed with extra caffeine. It’s sweetened with non-dairy coconut creamer and brown sugar for a supremely refined taste. They offer options for both a medium and espresso dark roast. Grateful Earth Coffee delivers a brilliant brew that’s healthy, tasty, and convenient.
You can get 20% off your first order by signing up for their newsletter.
Green Roads Focus Pods
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Green Roads is has a stellar reputation in the world of CBD coffee. However, the company is looking to make an equally impressive mark on the nootropic coffee market with its appropriately named Focus Boost Coffee Pods…and it’s every bit as good as you’d expect a Green Road’s product to be. Note: These nootropic K Cups do not contain CBD.
Their foray into this market represents some of the best that the nootropic coffee industry has to offer. Made with premium Colombian coffee beans, this brew is enhanced with brain-boosting nootropics derived from Lion’s Mane mushrooms. Formulated to promote healthy brain function, mental clarity, and improved cognition, Green Roads K Cups earns the top spot on our list of top nootropic coffees.
Kimera Koffee
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Kimera Koffee has been a long-time favorite of ours when it come to quality nootropics. We did a detailed Kimera Koffee review some years back and to this day is something that we still appreciate. As an organic nootropic coffee formulated for focus and concentration, it’s a product that is delicious as it is effective. Their coffee contains 725 mg of brain vitamins. This brew offers a substantial vitamin boost for your brain via all-natural add ins such as Alpha GPC, DMAE, L-theanine, and Taurine. As a premium nootropic coffee, it delivers a burst of brain energy without the crash that typically accompanies high caffeine brews.
On the coffee front, Kimera Koffee sources premium beans from the Dominican Republic and roasts them to either a medium and dark roast. Both options deliver a full and robust taste that has virtually no bitter aftertaste. It’s smooth as silk.
Kimera Koffee is available in ground and K-Cup forms but unfortunately, lacks a whole bean option.
Wunderground Coffee
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Wunderground Coffee’s Brainchild Coffee captures the best in what nootropic coffee has to offer. This blend sources premium Arabica coffee beans from Guatemala and Colombia and medium roasts them to perfection. Lion’s Mane and Cordyceps are then added to the beans to super charge them with nootropic benefits. This combination allows for a supreme focus without any crashes. Formulated for specifically brain function, memory boost, anti-aging, super focus, and high performance.
The tasting notes are worthy of coffee snobbery (and that’s a good thing). You’ll taste milk chocolate, graham cracker, apricot with a buttery finish. What you won’t taste is any mushroom flavor. Check out our Wunderground Coffee review for additional details about this premium nootropic coffee.
VitaCup Genius Blend
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VitaCup is actually one of the original pioneers of the nootropic coffee industry. I remember them well when they first came onto the scene 5 years ago. VitaCup’s Genius Blend is specifically formulated to help with energy and focus. Those two qualities admittedly go hand in hand but I was most interested in improving my focus. In a day and age where it’s becoming easier to be distracted than ever, focus is an often undervalued skill. VitaCup’s Genius blend includes a boost of MCT Oil (for a feeling of fullness and energy), Turmeric, Cinnamon, and Vitamins B1, B5, B6, B9, B12, and D3.
Having spent good time with this blend, I can say this is one of the company’s most impressive offerings [full review]. One of the most memorable things about this coffee is how you wouldn’t know it was a nootropic or vitamin coffee based on the taste. This brew sources high-quality beans from Mexico and Brazil while being medium roasted to perfection. The result is a very balanced, full, and refined flavor.
This coffee is offered in both ground and coffee pod forms. Like Kimera Koffee, there is no whole bean option.
Four Sigmatic Coffee
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Four sigmatic finds its way onto this list of best nootropic coffees for a number of reasons. First and perhaps most importantly, this coffee does NOT taste like mushrooms. Quite to the contrary, it tastes like an impeccably smooth and flavor full high-end brew. Their quality mushroom coffee contains only half the caffeine of regular coffee but grants you double the mental clarity as it’s chocked full of 500mg of organic Lion’s Mane and Chaga mushroom powder. The antioxidant properties from the Chaga mushroom help support healthy immune function as well.
This coffee delivers a smooth, strong, yet crash-free experience that will satisfy even the most uncompromising connoisseurs. USDA Organic, Fair Trade, and single origin, this company sets equally high standards for its coffee as it does its nootropics.
This coffee comes in only ground form.
Krios Coffee
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Not long ago, we came across Krios Coffee and were impressed by its clean dose of crash-free energy. It also contains essential daily vitamins while delivering an enjoyable flavor worthy of coffee connoisseurs.
Check out our full Krios Coffee review for more details. We certainly appreciated how much this coffee helped boost our productivity in the office.
- 🍃 Bacopa monnieri – a natural herb used to boost brain function, focus, and mental clarity, while reducing stress and anxiety
- 🌱 Rhodiola Rosea – an Arctic root used to reduce stress, fight fatigue, and increase mental performance
- 🌿 L-Theanine – an amino acid that reduces caffeine jitters and anxiety
- ❤️ B2, B3, B5, B9, B12, Biotin: B Vitamins are the building blocks for good overall physical and mental health, including concentration, clarity, memory, mood, and energy levels.
- ☀️ D3 – Called the sunshine vitamin, it supports healthy brain function, strong bones, and strengthens the immune system.
Uplift Coffee
Honorable Mention
Rounding out this list of the best nootropic coffees is Uplift Coffee’s Lean Bean product. The appropriately named coffee brand, sources high-end Robusta coffee (which typically has 2x the caffeine of its Arabica counterpart) and adds adaptogens and mushrooms to help deliver a solid brain boost. The end result is a full-flavored brew maximized for wellness.
Their ingredients are 100% plant based and do not contain any added sugars or emulsifiers, making this an ideal option for the health-conscious coffee lover.
Uplift Lean Bean coffee utilizes a potent mushroom blend of Reishi, Maitake, Shitake, Lion’s Mane, Cordyceps, Turkey Tail, Chaga, Oyster. Additionally, it combines an adaptogenic climbing vine called Jiaogulan and another stress-reducing adaptogen called Ashwagandha.
Oaza Cold Brew
Best Nootropic Cold Brew
Oaza is a nootropic cold brew company that offers a delicious focus-inducing drink made from only all-natural ingredients. It’s formulated with electrolytes to help offset the diuretic effects of caffeine and keep the body hydrated. For those who may not know, the caffeine in coffee makes you pee. Drinking a healthy cold brew such as this helps replenish lost electrolytes.
Oaza uses only oat milk and other plant-based ingredients to achieve their impressive flavor while delivering the cleanest energy boost possible.
- 200 mg of caffeine
- 0 Sugar and <30 calories for all flavors
- Infused with Electrolytes and L-Theanine
- Less acidity vs. traditional coffees for easier digestion and smoother taste
Coffee to the Moo
Best Instant Nootropic Coffee
Coffee to the Moo is not only a nootropic coffee, but it’s nitro coffee concentrate as well and incredibly convenient. Perfect for the coffee lover on the go, this coffee is made from coffee concentrate and stored in handy single-serve 16ml pods that are approximately the size of a tube of lipstick. Now you can enjoy nootropic infused coffee anytime, anywhere without the need for any coffee equipment. All you need is water.
The company sources 100% Arabica coffee and roasts them to about a medium dark level to ensure a robust and full flavor. Their brain-enhancing coffee contains a variety of ingredients formulated to improve cognition and focus. To learn more about this coffee, check out our full Coffee to the Moo review.
- Water
- Liquid Coffee Concentrate
- Huperzine A Extract
- Lion’s Mane Extract
- Phosphatidylserine
- Ginseng Extract
- Vitamin Complex (Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Niacin)
- Infused with Electrolytes and L-Theanine
Not all coffee lovers love their coffee hot. Cold brew is a new way of brewing your coffee that delivers a completely different type of coffee experience. For starters, cold brew is made by steeping beans in cold or room temperature water for anywhere between 5 – 24 hours. The result is a sweeter and less acidic brew that’s delightfully refreshing. Fortunately, the nootropic industry has made its way into this cold brew market. Our top pick for the best nootropic cold brew is Oaza Cold Brew.
Having covered some of the best nootropic coffees out there, let’s now take a closer look at what makes nootropic coffee in general so special and helpful.
Related Article: Coffee and Meditation
What is Nootropic Coffee?
Let’s first start with the term nootropics. Nootropics are substances (both naturally-occurring and manufactured) that can improve cognitive function, more specifically in the areas of attention, memory, creativity, and focus (reference). As such, nootropic coffee is often labeled as “smart coffee”.
Interestingly, there are some who think caffeine is a nootropic simply because it can give you more energy to think better. While coffee does offer some nootropic-like benefits because of its caffeine content, it is technically not a nootropic on its own. The coffee we’re talking about here is on a whole other level. It’s a way of taking your brain’s productivity to the new hieghts while enjoying the world’s greatest drink.
For some brief history, the term “nootropic” was first coined by Corneliu E. Giurgea who was a Romanian psychologist and chemist. He specified that a nootropic must meet the following requirements which incidentally disqualifies caffeine from being a nootropic.
- Enhance the memory and learning process
- Enhance resistance of learned behaviors to conditions with the tendency to disrupt them
- Protect the brain from physical or chemical damage
- Increasing the effectiveness of the tonic cortical and subcortical control mechanisms
- Be non-sedating, have minimal side effects, or none at all, and be non-toxic
Choosing the Best Nootropic Coffee?
Let’s be honest here. If the coffee doesn’t taste good, I won’t drink it regardless of the brain benefits it confers. I’ll leave the reader to judge whether that’s a responsible statement or not. But in the end, you’ll want to choose a nootropic coffee that artfully balances flavor and efficacy. Every brand will have its own approach to formulation but ultimately, the best nootropic coffee will be one where you can’t taste the nootropics.
Related Article: Can Coffee Help with Learning
Choosing the best nootropic coffee is not unlike choosing your favorite regular coffee. The main difference is identifying your goals for what you want to get out of your morning brew.
Grind and Delivery Form
Fortunately, nootropic coffee just like regular coffee comes in standard whole bean, ground, or even instant forms. However, not every brand offers all three options so you’ll need to do a little digging.
As you may have already noted, most nootropic coffees come in only preground form. This is common since many brands will need to grind their coffee first before infusing them with nootropics. However, there are some nootropic brands that carry whole beans. Of course, there’s also an option for nootropic K-Cups and coffee pods. If you’re a K-Cup user, we recommend going with VitaCup.
Roast
Often times light roast coffee will allow more of the bean’s natural flavor to express itself. On the other hand, darker roasts will deliver a richer and bolder flavor mixed with a slight smokiness that naturally results from the bean being exposed to hot temperatures for a long period of time. Kimera Koffee and VitaCup offer excellent choices for a quality dark roast nootropic coffee.
Related Article: Differences between coffee roasts
Cognition Goals
Each nootropic coffee will have a varying mix of ingredients. Additionally, these ingredients will be present in different quantities. When selecting the best nootropic coffee for your particular needs, consider what areas of cognition you’re looking to enhance. Are you looking for enhance stability and focus or creativity and mood control? The description of the nootropic coffee you’re considering should tell you what specific areas of your cognition this product was formulated to improve.
What are the Benefits of Nootropics
The benefits of nootropics are many and equally varied. Because the term nootropics covers a wide variety of substances that improve overall cognitive function, each substance will offer a different benefit. For example, Four Sigmatic leverages concentrated mushroom extracts while Kimera Koffee contains natural amino acids such as Alpha GPC, Taurine, DMAE, and L-Theanine. Meanwhile, VitaCup is choked full of vitamin B’s. Being that each coffee uses different nootropics, each a coffee will deliver different benefits.
Having said this, nootropic coffees as a whole offer the following benefits.
- Improve memory and focus
- Foster creativity
- Increase blood flow in the brain thereby supporting the regeneration of brain cells
- Speed up learning processes
- Improve your mood
- Increase motivation and focus while exercising
- Combat physical and mental stress by regulating brain chemicals
Nootropics can be very fast-acting no different than caffeine. In the same way that first sip of coffee gives you a near instantaneous boost of energy and clarity, so to can nootropics give you instant brain power. Whether it’s studying for an exam or aiming to meet a near-approaching deadline, nootropics can give you what you need when you need it.
Related Article: Top Ways Students Can Take Care of Their Mental Health
Conclusion to our Nootropic Coffee Guide
Hopefully this guide will have provided you with a foundational understanding of what nootropic coffee is all about. Who’d have thought that drinking coffee can actually help make you smarter? While it’s a relative niche’ market, it’s a trend that has been rapidly growing popularity. And given the world’s increasing concern with health, it will likely only gain in adoption.
If you’re a health conscious coffee drinker but don’t necessarily want to mix the world of nootropics with your morning brew, consider taking a look at our list of the best healthy coffees of 2024. These coffees were in part chosen because of the ways in which the beans were roasted and prepared in order to deliver the highest amount of antioxidants.
If you’re looking for benefits that go beyond just nootropic coffees, check out our full list of the best vitamin coffees of the year.
FAQ About Nootropics
Nootropic Coffee
While some nootropic coffee blends may contain ingredients that are associated with weight loss, nootropic coffee is not specifically a weight loss product and should not be used as a substitute for a healthy diet and exercise. For example, nootropic coffee can assist with weight loss via the increased energy it confers. This extra energy which can come from a variety of nootropic sources translates into a more efficient exercise and thereby, more weight loss. Additionally, caffeine which is a natural nootropic, has been proven to help curb appetite.
Lastly, some nootropic coffees contain MCT oil which is used to help give you a feeling satiety (or fullness) for extended periods of time. As a result, nootropic coffees that happen to include MCT oil can be used to help you reach weight loss goals.
The time it takes for the effects of nootropic coffee to kick in can vary depending on the individual and the specific blend of ingredients. However, many people report feeling the effects within 30 minutes to an hour after consumption.
It’s often recommended that women who are pregnant drink restrict their caffeine intake. So while nootropics in general do not pose a risk, the accompanying caffeine can have adverse health effects. In any case, we suggest always consulting your healthcare provider or physician if you have any questions about whether a specific nootropic coffee is good fit for you.
The best nootropic coffee for beginners depends on personal preference and individual needs. It’s important to choose a reputable brand that uses high-quality natural ingredients, start with a low dosage, and gradually increase the amount over time.
If you have a Keurig machine, we recommend checking out Green Roads Focus Pods. If you prefer ground coffee, we recommend going with Kimera Koffee. Lastly, if you’re a coffee lover on the go and are looking for an instant nootropic coffee, we suggest Grateful Earth.
Common natural nootropic ingredients used in nootropic coffee include L-theanine, Rhodiola rosea, ginkgo biloba, Lion’s Mane mushrooms, Bacopa monnieri, and other herbs and amino acids that are associated with improved cognitive function.
- Improve memory and focus
- Foster creativity
- Increase blood flow in the brain thereby supporting the regeneration of brain cells
- Speed up learning processes
- Improve your mood
- Increase motivation and focus while exercising
- Combat physical and mental stress by regulating brain chemicals
Yes, you can. Drinking nootropic coffee over an extended period of time can sharpen your mind, increase focus, and improve overall cognitive function. Remember that everyone’s body is different. If you’re new to the world of nootropic coffee, pay careful attention to how you feel after you drink your enhanced brew and adjust accordingly. As with all things, moderation is key.
No, Nootropics are considered non-addictive drugs as they confer a number of benefits to your health, specifically brain performance. As such, there’s no need to fear building a physiological dependency on nootropics from drinking nootropic coffee. Caffeine, on the other hand, can be addicting.
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