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People have been buzzing about bulletproof coffee — AKA adding butter and/or oil to your java — for a few years now, but the more I interview people for Delish.com, the more often it keeps bubbling up. (Go ahead, facepalm at my bad pun; I’m sure I have more percolating.)
It came up again last week, while talking to SEC Nation host Tim Tebow about his favorite foods, and my furrowed brow must have given me away as a Person Who’s Mildly Perturbed By the Idea of Putting Butter in Coffee. Or maybe it was the fact that pretty much everybody reacts that way when they hear about the trend. Whatever the case, he offered to make me a cup, and I couldn’t resist trying it.
Tebow’s version is a bit more involved than simply swirling a pat of butter into a cup of joe; his recipe includes heavy organic whipping cream, unsweetened almond milk and English Toffee-flavored liquid Stevia, which basically makes it taste like a caramel-ish latte. Minus the whipped cream topping. The most noticeable difference, though? There’s not a hint of bitterness in the brew. It’s the smoothest coffee I’ve had in a while.
As you can see though, that yellow film on the top of the drink isn’t so appealing to look at:
Proponents say it helps them think more clearly and gives them the jolt of energy they need to power through a long day. I’ve also heard people say it suppresses hunger, which can help you lose weight, if that’s your end goal (though the drink itself has been known to clock in at 450-plus calories a cup, according to Shape). The man who coined bulletproof coffee, tech entrepreneur Dave Asprey, also credits his recipe for helping him lose 100 pounds and get more sleep, the website reports.
I can’t speak to any of its effects, beyond its flavor, since I only had about a third of the cup before we had to scramble to pack up our tailgating gear in the rain (Delish hosted a segment on SEC Nation just before the Ole Miss game that weekend).
However, sports dietician Jenna Bell makes a great argument: The added fat can help you feel satiated longer, but if you’re struggling with high-LDL cholesterol, drinking bulletproof coffee may not be for you.