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What is bulletproof coffee and how to make it the Shanghai way

What is bulletproof coffee and how to make it the Shanghai way

By EfulPublished 2 years ago 9 min read
2
What is bulletproof coffee and how to make it the Shanghai way
Photo by Jojo Yuen (sharemyfoodd) on Unsplash

Before you start adding anything to your coffee, let's first try to be clear: a cup of black, real coffee made from quality coffee beans is amazing in itself. Besides tasting great, coffee can help improve mental and physical performance, so it's no surprise that so many people around the world start their day with a cup of coffee in the morning.

I myself have been drinking coffee regularly since my college days and always prefer black coffee. In fact, I find it hard to understand how people can truly appreciate coffee with so many things added to it. It's unbelievable how much sugar, creamer and more sugar people put in their coffee. My theory is that people who do this may not actually like coffee - they need high sugar levels, with a little caffeine added for good measure.

So when I first heard about people putting chunks of butter in coffee, I wondered if loading coffee with fat instead of sugar was really something else.

Is chasing a fat high more rewarding than chasing a sugar high?

What is bulletproof coffee?

Bulletproof coffee is a term originally coined by self-proclaimed biohacker Dave Asprey to refer to coffee made from his own brand of coffee beans mixed with healthy fats. Of course, nowadays it seems that the term "bulletproof coffee" is being used more broadly to refer to any cup of coffee mixed with fats such as butter, coconut oil, and MCT oil. The idea is that these fats, when combined with caffeine, can give you a nice, sustained energy boost and also make you feel full.

Bulletproof coffee is definitely gaining popularity in the US, especially among athletes and CrossFitters. In a recent three-part series on NBA nutrition, CBS Sports even talked about how bulletproof coffee is the Lakers' "drink of choice." A quick Google Trends search for "bulletproof coffee" reveals that the term started gaining traction towards the end of 2012 and has been in an uptrend ever since.

What are the REAL benefits of bulletproof coffee?

If you go to the Asprey website, you can find the following bulletproof coffee claims:

"It makes you feel energized, alert and focused for the whole day without the collapse of commercial energy drinks."

“This will give you enough energy for 6 hours if you need it, and since I eat it for breakfast, I am programming my body to burn fat for energy throughout the day!”

“Try this just once with at least 2 tbsp.

Now I am not going to refute any of these statements. In fact, I tend to agree with most of them. However, the question I have is this: How many of these benefits can be attributed to drinking coffee alone, whether or not you are "bulletproof" of it?

I would venture to guess that most of the benefits people claim to get from drinking bulletproof coffee come from the coffee itself. But I've found that the real distinguishing benefit of bulletproof coffee, which rarely causes stress, perhaps because it's ridiculously simple, is that after drinking bulletproof coffee you feel full.

The fact that you feel full after eating a large amount of butter with your coffee probably won't come as a surprise to most people. But why I see this as a key benefit of bulletproof coffee may not be so obvious. Basically, it all comes down to the fact that your brain can only efficiently process so many decisions in a day. So if you want to be efficient, it's important to minimize distractions and focus on the most important decisions. In this case, bulletproof coffee can help you manage your hunger so it doesn't distract you. The idea is to overcome the conventional wisdom that in order to function, you must or must eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at set times each day. You have to listen to your body, and if you are not hungry, you have the green light to continue with the task at hand.

By Jakub Dziubak on Unsplash

Bulletproof coffee for YOU?

At this point, a logical question might arise: “If all bulletproof coffee does is fill you up, why don’t you just drink regular coffee and eat like a normal person?”

For me it comes down to efficiency and diet.

First, if you're already a coffee drinker like me, why not kill two birds with one stone (caffeine cravings and hunger) with one shot? Adding butter to your coffee is more effective and less distracting than deciding what to eat for breakfast and then either making it yourself or buying it somewhere. Those who appreciate the productivity benefits of following daily rituals will be able to better understand this point.

Second, I think people commenting on whether bulletproof coffee is "good" or "bad" often overlook the fact that many bulletproof coffee drinkers (myself included) follow a low-carb diet. Diets low in carbohydrates (mainly sugar) are usually high in fat. In other words, low sugar diet = high fat diet. So while full-fat coffee might sound delicious to a low-carb dieter who is used to consuming more fat, it's understandable why someone on a regular diet might find the concept disgusting.

To sum it up, I recommend trying Bulletproof Coffee if any of the following apply to you:

You are not convinced that eating three meals a day is a "must" and prefer to spend less time eating and more time doing productive work.

You want to simplify your daily life so that you can focus on the important things.

You prefer to eat fat rather than sugar.

You are on a low carb diet.

Shanghai Bulletproof Coffee

If you've made it this far, I guess that means you're ready to try bulletproof coffee. Let me explain how I make my own version, which I will call Shanghai Bulletproof Coffee. The "Shanghai" in the title is an acknowledgment of the fact that my less precise (and therefore more Chinese) training deviates from Asprey's strict approach, and that's how I do it here in Shanghai. Shanghai Bulletproof Coffee is all about getting the performance boost you want from your coffee with the least amount of time and effort. If, after all, our goal is to reduce decisions and distractions, then getting too carried away with making coffee seems counterproductive.

So, here's what you'll need:

Coffee. To minimize changes in your daily routine, simply start by making (or buying) coffee as you normally would at home or in the office. I haven't noticed any performance degradation when switching between well-known coffee brands, so I'm not worried if a mass-market coffee (like Starbucks) is the only coffee available. But in general, I buy coffee as fresh as possible. When buying coffee beans, ask the staff when they were roasted, or look for the roast date on the packaging. As with any food, the newer the date, the better.

Butter. As with coffee, I don't see significant performance differences between brands of butter. So just start with what is comfortable and then try different brands until you find what you like best. I usually use unsalted butter, but I have also tried salted butter and found that it really adds an interesting flavor. If all you have in the kitchen is a chunk of salted butter, just grab it and adjust later. I usually buy Kerrygold or President butter, which is supposedly from grass-fed cows and is easy to find in most supermarkets. And if you're lactose intolerant, like me, don't worry—butter is virtually lactose-free, so unless you're hypersensitive, it's unlikely you'll experience any nasty side effects.

Coconut oil. The original bulletproof coffee recipe calls for MCT oil. MCTs, or Medium Chain Triglycerides, are found naturally in foods and are primarily fats that can be rapidly metabolized to provide your body with fuel. I use MCT oil from time to time, but I prefer to use virgin coconut oil because in addition to being naturally rich in MCTs, virgin coconut oil is also rich in other beneficial nutrients. Extra virgin coconut oil also imparts a subtle coconut flavor and is easier to find than MCT oil, especially if you live in China.

Chopstick - Use the chopstick to mix the ingredients. A chopstick works great as a stirrer and adds an extra "Shanghai flavor" to the mix. Using a blender or milk frother will give you a thicker latte-like froth, but I find they're not worth the hassle. A blender is very difficult to clean, and the process of transferring coffee to and from the blender pretty much ensures that your coffee is no longer hot by the time you drink it. A manual milk frother can be more efficient than a blender as you can use it to stir directly in the coffee cup, but you will need a very large cup so the coffee doesn't spill when the coffee is swirled.

Once you have the ingredients, make Shanghai Bulletproof Coffee in four easy steps:

Step 1 - Add butter and coconut oil to the bottom of an empty coffee mug. I usually add one tablespoon (~14 grams) of butter and one tablespoon of coconut oil per cup. If you don't care about precision, a tablespoon is about half the size of a golf ball. When buying butter, look for measuring marks on the packaging so that you can simply cut open the packaging and get the required amount of butter. Another easy way to measure quantities is to buy (or take) prepackaged servings of butter, which you often find in restaurants (usually 10 grams each). If this is your first time, try starting with a smaller amount and then increase depending on your energy needs and how your body feels.

Step 2 - Add coffee to the mug. Start by adding the amount of coffee you want to drink and then adjust the proportions to your personal preference. Just make sure you leave enough space in the mug so you can stir without spilling it all over the place. My machine is set to make about 7 ounces of coffee per serving, which fills a standard coffee mug about three-quarters full.

Step 3 - Stir with chopsticks until butter and coconut oil are dissolved. You'll find that butter and coconut oil dissolve fairly easily in hot coffee, so mixing should take no more than 20-30 seconds.

Step 4. Drink your Shanghai Bulletproof Coffee and feel amazing!

Now make yourself a cup of Shanghai Bulletproof Coffee! Often the hardest thing about trying something new is taking the first step. I hope my simplified version of bulletproof coffee has helped you try it and see for yourself. All our bodies are unique, so the only way to know if something works for you is to try it.

Thank you So much for you to reading till the end, and please kindly to support me as you could, I would be appreciate it. Have a great day:D

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About the Creator

Eful

Hi there, I am Syaefullah Nur from Indonesia. I am reader and now I try to providing my best articles for you guys. Enjoy it;)

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