Mushroom coffee is becoming so popular even supplement companies are jumping on the hype train. Ryze Mushroom Coffee has blown up on social media, with Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee capturing much of the Amazon market.
But which is better once we cut through the marketing hype?
Four Sigmatic wins this mushroom coffee comparison with Ryze based on taste, texture, and user reviews. Both products are underdosed and do not contain enough mushrooms to provide optimal benefits.
Still, Four Sigmatic is a decent replacement for standard coffee for people who want to consume less caffeine and combine it with the potential of medicinal mushrooms.
But if you want the best of both worlds, I suggest you try Nootrum Coffee Fusion. It has a very similar recipe but four times the dosage, which makes it much more effective while costing roughly the same.
Feature | Winner |
---|---|
Ingredients | Ryze |
Dosage | Ryze |
Taste | Four Sigmatic |
Third-Party Testing | Draw |
Clinical Research | Draw |
Side Effects | Draw |
User Reviews | Four Sigmatic |
Price | Four Sigmatic |
Winner
Based on my testing and ingredient breakdown, neither Ryze nor Four Sigmatic is as effective as Nootrum Coffee Fusion. Nootrum is a more potent mushroom coffee with 4 times the mushroom content without the horrible taste associate with high doses of mushrooms.
What Is Four Sigmatic Think Mushroom Coffee
Four Sigmatic is a health and wellness brand started by Tero Isokauppila, who grew up on a 13-generation Finnish family farm.
They are well renowned for their mushroom-infused coffee, which provides various health benefits while minimizing the common adverse effects of coffee.
Four Sigmatic’s name is derived from the statistical concept of “four sigma,” representing the top 100 most nutrient-dense foods on Earth.
The brand employs some of these foods, which include exceptionally beneficial mushrooms such as Lion’s Mane and Chaga, to develop products that promote health and wellness practically and enjoyably.
You can read my full Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee review here.
What is Ryze Mushroom Coffee
RYZE superfoods produce several natural supplements and products, such as RYZE Matcha Coffee or RYZE Overnight Oats.
This review focuses on their organic mushroom coffee, which blends 8 ingredients to create a healthy and beneficial substitute for regular coffee.
As expected from a product aimed at health-conscious people, Ryze mushroom coffee contains only organic ingredients and is GMO-free. Each component was carefully handpicked for its known health benefits.
You can read my full Ryze Mushroom Coffee review here.
Four Sigmatic vs. Ryze Main Differences
Benefits
Mushroom coffees aim to substitute regular coffee as a more health-oriented alternative. There is nothing wrong with coffee beans; most mushroom alternatives also contain coffee, but adding medicinal mushrooms and other potent herbs and plants adds many more potential benefits.
One benefit of Ryze and Four Sigmatic is that they contain less caffeine than regular coffee, which is great for caffeine-sensitive people. Depending on the blend, they can provide many more benefits, such as enhanced cognitive function from the Lion’s Mane mushroom, which is present in both products.
Ryze contains many more ingredients that are potentially beneficial for physical performance, the immune system, and reducing stress and anxiety. Still, the amounts are very small, and I doubt the effects can be profound.
A shared benefit between the two products (and most mushroom coffees) is the use of organic ingredients and the absence of unhealthy additives.
Ingredients
Unfortunately, neither product lists the individual dosages of the ingredients, which leaves us guessing about them. However, given the overall weight of a single serving, we can approximate the potential effects.
Both products contain organic coffee. The effects of the world’s most popular stimulant are well known and include boosted energy levels and focus in addition to multiple other health benefits [1].
A regular cup of coffee usually contains 5 grams of coffee, while Four Sigmatics’ entire doses are 2.5 grams and Ryze’s are 6 grams.
With half the caffeine content, these mushroom coffees cannot deliver the same effects as a regular cup, but this also prevents jitters and energy crashes.
Both coffees contain Lion’s mane mushroom, which can improve brain health and function, cognitive performance, brain cell growth, blood flow to brain cells, attention, memory, and concentration, combat brain fog, mental decline, and other mental health difficulties.
The efficacious dose of Lion’s mane is 1000 mg, which is not matched by either product. Four Sigmatic has a total dose of 2.5 grams, most likely coffee, while Ryze mixes Lion’s mane with 5 other mushrooms, and the chance of having enough is not high.
Four Sigmatic’s second mushroom is Chaga, which is rich in compounds that offer benefits like boosting the digestive and immune systems, enhancing focus and energy, reducing blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and preventing or treating cell mutation, fatigue, and certain chronic illnesses and somatic ailments [2][3].
The last ingredient of Four Sigmatic is Rhodiola Extract, which can help prevent or treat stress, anxiety, depression, mental fatigue, and inflammation, boost mental energy levels, brain health, focus, cognitive function, metabolic processes, concentration, and mood, and combat certain illnesses [4].
Ryze features a mushroom blend containing cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, Reishi, shiitake, turkey tail, and king trumpet. Most of the mushrooms are well-proven, but the lack of dosage information and the serving size make it highly unlikely that the blend will be effective.
The product also contains MCT oil and coconut milk, which can deliver more potential health benefits. But like the rest of the components, we know they are not in optimal amounts, considering the overall serving size.
Taste
Four Sigmatic definitely tastes better, at least to me. I brewed it hot in a French press, then tried regular brewing and cold water, and the result was consistent every time. While it may be an acquired taste, it tastes much better than many other mushroom coffees.
It’s one of the reasons it’s ranked in my list of best mushroom coffee.
Ryze mushroom coffee has a distinctive aroma that differs from other mushroom coffees, let alone regular coffee. The flavor is earthy and slightly bitter. The texture is smooth, but I don’t like the taste.
I’ve tried mixing it with milk, creamer, and even flavored syrups, but none made it particularly delicious.
However, taste is the most subjective category; some may find it enjoyable.
Clinical Research
Most ingredients in the two coffees are well-researched, and their possible benefits are documented. Lion’s mane is by far the most effective mushroom out of the bunch, but the rest also have the potential to improve various aspects of your health.
Side Effects
As Ryze and Four Sigmatic Think contain coffee, they can induce the typical caffeine-related side effects like insomnia, jitters, anxiety, elevated pulse, and an energy crash. However, the caffeine amount is roughly half of what’s inside a regular cup of coffee, precisely to avoid adverse effects.
The other possible side effects are from the mushroom blends. Ryze has more ingredients and a bigger serving, so it has a higher potential for side effects.
They usually include stomach issues like bloating or gas. I haven’t experienced any of them while drinking Ryze and Four Sigmatic.
User Reviews
Looking at the customer reviews for Four Sigmatic Think, the feedback appears to be highly positive. The product now has a 4.3 out of 5-star rating on Amazon from almost 18,000 reviews.
When checking the good reviews, the most popular remarks were its low pricing and “delicious” taste whether you drink it with or without milk or sugar, hot or cold.
However, many negative reviews were also posted. These felt more telling than the positive ones, as they centered on how the mushroom coffee affected them. Many claimed it accomplished nothing and was less effective than a cup of coffee.
Ryze Mushroom Coffee has a lower score and fewer reviews to look into. There are some highly positive reviews, but even the high scores are usually not overly superlative.
The negative reviews present a much more diverse range of complaints, such as bad taste, lack of noticeable benefits, or bad texture.
Price
Mushroom Coffee | 1 Bag | 2 Bags | 4 Bags |
---|---|---|---|
Four Sigmatic | $20.00 / $1.25 per serving | $38.00 / $1.19 per serving | $72.00 / $1.13 per serving |
Four Sigmatic w/ Subscription | $16.00 / $1.00 per serving | $30.40 / $0.95 per serving | $57.60 / $0.90 per serving |
Ryze | $36.00 / $1.20 per serving | $66.00 / $1.10 per serving |
My Experience With Four Sigmatic And Ryze
I was not impressed by either Ryze or Four Sigmatic mushroom coffee.
I replaced my morning coffee with Four Sigmatic, which positively affected my energy levels, but not as much as regular coffee.
Then, I can’t say I’ve felt more focused or dialed in. The rest of the health benefits work “behind the scenes,” so I can’t be certain how helpful the product is.
But the taste is pleasant, and I enjoy drinking it every morning, even if some mornings I would’ve preferred the coffee taste and effect I am used to.
Ryze had a similar effect. It delivers an energy boost, but not as potent as regular coffee. I can’t share that I have felt any other benefits from it.
Unfortunately, the taste and texture made it a chore to drink each morning, and I couldn’t wait to return to my regular coffee.
Should You Choose Four Sigmatic Or Ryze?
Four Sigmatic has fewer ingredients but tastes better, and the Lion’s mane dose is possibly larger than the one in Ryze. It also has much better user reviews and is cheaper if you choose a subscription plan.
Based on this, I recommend Four Sigmatic Think over Ryze Mushroom Coffee.
But I also highly recommend another product that outperforms Four Sigmatic in every aspect: Nootrum Mushroom coffee. Nootrum has a much better-dosed and potent blend of coffee and medicinal mushrooms and is by far my favorite product of its kind.
Winner
Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee
A mushroom coffee rich in Lion’s Mane Mushroom with a better coffee taste.
CHECK CURRENT DEALSRunner Up
RYZE Mushroom Coffee
An underdosed mushroom coffee made popular through social media.
CHECK CURRENT DEALSReferences
- Poole, R., Kennedy, O. J., Roderick, P., Fallowfield, J. A., Hayes, P. C., & Parkes, J. (2017). Coffee consumption and health: umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes. bmj, 359.
- Tian, J., Hu, X., Liu, D., Wu, H., & Qu, L. (2017). Identification of Inonotus obliquus polysaccharide with broad-spectrum antiviral activity against multi-feline viruses. International journal of biological macromolecules, 95, 160-167.
- Hu, Y., Teng, C., Yu, S., Wang, X., Liang, J., Bai, X., … & Qu, J. (2017). Inonotus obliquus polysaccharide regulates gut microbiota of chronic pancreatitis in mice. Amb Express, 7, 1-11.
- Duncan, M. J., & Clarke, N. D. (2014). The effect of acute Rhodiola rosea ingestion on exercise heart rate, substrate utilisation, mood state, and perceptions of exertion, arousal, and pleasure/displeasure in active men. Journal of Sports Medicine, 2014(1), 563043.
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