How to Make Bulletproof Coffee: Meet the Cool Coffee on the Block

Called by actress Shailene Woodley as “one of the greatest of human achievements,” bulletproof coffee has become a game changer to global influencers and Silicon Valley’s powerhouses. It’s like normal coffee but better, according to those who swear by it.

Bulletproof coffee is the creation of Dave Asprey, “a Silicon Valley investor and technology entrepreneur who spent two decades and over $1 Million to hack his own biology,” according to his blog.

In an interview with Fast Company, Asprey describes his life-changing trip to Tibet in 2004. During his spiritual trip, he struggled with the harsh terrain and altitudes of Tibet when he was given a cup of yak butter tea by a local. He felt instant relief and energy. When he returned from his trip, he sought to recreate the concoction, but with coffee and grass-fed cow’s butter. After extensive research and tests, he added the “final missing piece,” which turned out to be Brain Octane Oil.

Bulletproof coffee was born.

Photo via Instagram / @slckch

What makes it better than regular coffee, besides the taste? Fans of the buttery blend say that bulletproof coffee improves fat loss, energy, concentration and lowers stress. As you can see from the graphic above, it also contains a lot of vitamins and minerals, including A, K2 and E thanks to the grass-fed butter.

Asprey’s blog claims that drinking bulletproof coffee will “keep you full for hours,” “curb hunger,” “promote mental clarity,” “increase fat burning,” “support your hormones” and to top it all off, it tastes “awesome.

Another benefit is how you don’t need to shop at a specific store to get it. Asprey revealed the secret to his successful concoction on the Bulletproof 360 blog. In the official recipe, ingredients include:

• 2 ½ heaping tablespoons of ground Bulletproof coffee beans (or your choice of coffee beans)
• 1 teaspoon – 2 tablespoons of Brain Octane Oil
• 1-2 tablespoons of grass-fed, unsalted butter or grass-fed ghee (clarified butter from the South Asia region)

Once you have all those ingredients, take out your french press and begin.

• Brew 1 cup (8-12 ounces) of coffee using filtered water with 2 ½ heaping tablespoons of freshly ground beans. Use a French Press for ease of use and to preserve coffee oils.
• Add 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons of Brain Octane Oil (it’s powerful so start out small)
• Add 1-2 tablespoons of grass-fed, unsalted butter or grass-fed ghee. Make sure your butter is unsalted.
• Mix it all in a blender for 20-30 seconds until it looks like a creamy latte with some foam on top.

You can also add other ingredients to spice up your coffee including turmeric, vanilla, chocolate powder, cinnamon and many others.

The recipe includes warnings against sugar or any type of sweetener, providing a list of pre-approved sweeteners.

It also emphasizes the necessity of grass-fed butter, brain octane oil and lab-tested, mold-free coffee for optimal performance. Beginners are cautioned to consume the drink slowly in order to adjust. It also recommends digestive support, especially for vegans and low-fat eaters.

There’s even a version of the recipe for people on a ketogenic diet. Perfect Keto’s own take on bulletproof coffee is similar, except it cuts out the Brain Octane Oil.

Those ingredients include:

• 2 cups of freshly brewed hot coffee (they recommend a single origin, light roast)
• 2 tablespoons of grass-fed butter
• 1 scoop of perfect keto MCT powder (or any MCT powder)
• 1 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon

The recipe instructs you to combine all of the ingredients in a blender, increasing the speed from low to high for half a minute or until desired frothiness.

Bulletproof coffee isn’t for everybody. It’s a lot of work if you just like to grab a cup of coffee to go in the morning. It’s also pricey, with a bag of Instamix costing $30 and a bottle of the Brain Octane Oil costing around $50.

It’s also unclear whether the benefits are worth it. Christopher Ochner, a nutrition expert at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, told Fast Company that he’s wary over its reported weight loss benefits.

“I would most certainly not recommend it,” he said. “Now there is a little bit of data on the use of medium-chain triglycerides for weight loss and regulating cholesterol. But the effect is very, very small.”

So do your research and make sure bulletproof coffee is right for you. You never know, you may up a convert.