Since you’ve been on the mushroom coffee search, you’re familiar with Four Sigmatic and MUD\WTR. Both are marketed as coffee alternatives providing lasting energy, health benefits from mushrooms, and no jitters or energy crashes.
I tried both to see which one is the better mushroom coffee and if they are worth your money.
Quick Verdict
Four Sigmatic has a modest formulation, which is a bit too light for my taste, and the effects are not as strong as I would like. However, it’s affordable and tastes fine, so it can be a decent choice for people looking to replace their morning cup of coffee.
MUD WTR tastes exactly as its name suggests. Despite the better ingredients list and higher doses of beneficial mushrooms and spices, I couldn’t bear to drink it for long enough. However, if you manage to mix it with something to make it passable, it may be beneficial.
But I would much rather drink Nootrum Coffee Fusion instead, which has even higher doses of key components and tastes infinitely better.
| Feature | Winner |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | MUD WTR |
| Dosage | MUD WTR |
| 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 MUD WTR nor Four Sigmatic is as effective as Nootrum Coffee Fusion. Nootrum is a potent mushroom coffee without the horrible taste associated with high doses of mushrooms.
What Is Four Sigmatic Think Mushroom Coffee
Tero Isokauppila, who grew up on a 13-generation Finnish family farm, founded the health and wellness company Four Sigmatic.
They are well-known for their mushroom-infused coffee, which offers a variety of health benefits while minimizing the typical side effects of coffee.
Four Sigmatic derives its name from the statistical concept of “four sigma,” which represents the top 100 most nutrient-dense foods on Earth.
The company uses some of these foods, including highly beneficial mushrooms like Lion’s Mane and Chaga, to create products that promote health and wellness practically and enjoyably.
You can read my in-depth Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee review here.
What is MUD WTR
MUD WTR is a coffee substitute made from 100% organic cocoa, ayurvedic herbs, and beneficial mushrooms.
With only a quarter of the caffeine found in coffee, it can deliver energy, focus, and immunological support without jitters, crashes, or disturbed sleep.
The MUD WTR product range includes four distinct blends: cacao, matcha, turmeric, and rooibos. This review focuses on the Cacao version, which was the original recipe.
All MUD WTR blends are organic, non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free, and contain USA-grown mushrooms.
You can read my in-depth MUD WTR review here.
Four Sigmatic vs. MUD WTR Main Differences
Benefits
Mushroom coffees seek to replace conventional coffee as a more health-conscious option.
There is nothing wrong with coffee beans; most mushroom alternatives include them, but adding medicinal mushrooms and other potent herbs and plants significantly increases the potential benefits.
MUD WTR and Four Sigmatic’s primary goal is to deliver an energy boost without the drawbacks of conventional coffee, so they contain much less caffeine.
Depending on the blend, they can provide various additional advantages, including improved cognitive function from the Lion’s Mane fungus, which is found in both products.
MUD WTR’s blend contains many more ingredients and can potentially deliver a wider range of benefits. The product also offers free USA shipping and a free USB-rechargeable frother.
Both products boast fully organic ingredient lists and are GMO-free, vegan, and gluten-free.
Ingredients
Four Sigmatic does not specify the individual doses of the components, leaving us wondering. However, we can estimate the potential effects based on the total weight of a single serving, which is 2.5 g, and the order in which the ingredients are listed.
MUD WTR does things better, and its website provides a detailed breakdown of the whole 6 g blend.
Four Sigmatic contains organic coffee, and each serving has roughly half of what you will find in a regular cup of 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].
The caffeine in the MUD WTR cacao blend comes from black tea powder, which provides 35 mg of caffeine.
Both blends contain Lion’s mane mushroom, which can increase brain health and function, cognitive performance, brain cell growth, blood flow to brain cells, attention, memory, and focus, combat brain fog, mental decline, and other mental health issues.
The efficacious dose of Lion’s mane is 1000 mg, which is not matched by either product. Four Sigmatic has a 2.5-gram dose, at least half of which is coffee, while MUD WTR contains 560 mg of Lion’s mane [5].
Four Sigmatic’s second mushroom is Chaga, It is rich in compounds that provide benefits like stimulating the digestive and immunological systems, enhancing attention and energy, lowering blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and preventing or curing cell mutation, weariness, and certain chronic illnesses and somatic maladies [2][3].
Chaga is also a part of MUD WTR’s recipe with 560 mg, which is likely more than what’s in Four Sigmatic.
Four Sigmatic’s final ingredient is Rhodiola Extract, which can help prevent or treat stress, anxiety, sadness, mental tiredness, and inflammation, enhance mental energy levels, brain health, attention, cognitive function, metabolic processes, concentration, and mood, and combat certain illnesses [4].
MUD WTR contains two more medicinal mushrooms—reishi and cordyceps, which are 560 mg. Cordyceps supports natural energy, while reishi boosts the immune system [6][7].
The MUD WTR Cacao blend naturally contains organic cacao, which can support better blood flow, heart rate, insulin sensitivity, brain and heart functions, natural energy levels, workout performance, and weight loss [8].
The recommended dose is 500 mg of cacao daily, while MUD WTR contains 1900 mg per serving, so it can deliver benefits.
Then, MUD WTR has a spice blend containing cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, nutmeg, and cloves.
Most of these spices can offer several benefits, but the 2400 mg spice blend does not contain enough of them to provide the full range of possible benefits.
Taste
Four Sigmatic tastes much better, at least to me. I brewed it hot in a French press, then attempted standard brewing with cold water, and the results were always consistent. While it may take some time to get used to, it tastes far superior to many other mushroom coffees.
My big issue with MUD WTR was the taste. The drink does its name justice. I can tell you that much. The powder hardly mixes with water, even with the frother, and always leaves a big lump of MUD on the bottom of the cup.
The taste is earthy and MUDdy, and even milk and sweetener do little to make it passable. I can see some people enjoy it a lot more, but it’s an acquired taste at best.
Clinical Research
The two products’ ingredients have been subjected to extensive clinical research, and the effects are well documented. I’ve shared some relevant studies in the ingredients section of this review, and there are plenty more if you look around online.
Regarding third-party testing, both products have been USDA organic certified and come with many other certifications to deliver peace of mind to health-conscious customers.
Side Effects
Four Sigmatic and MUD WTR contain caffeine but much lower amounts than regular coffee. The typical side effects like jitters and energy crashes are unlikely, which is one of the two products’ main selling points.
Other probable negative effects come from mushroom mixtures. MUD WTR has more components and a larger serving size, which increases the risk of adverse effects.
They frequently involve stomach problems such as bloating or gas. I haven’t had any of them while drinking MUD WTR or Four Sigmatic.
User Reviews
The user reviews for Four Sigmatic Think appear to be very positive. Based on nearly 18,000 reviews, the product has a 4.3 out of 5-star rating on Amazon.
When reviewing the positive feedback, the most common comments were about its inexpensive price and “delicious” taste, whether you drink it with or without milk or sugar, hot or cold.
However, more than enough bad reviews were also left. These seemed more telling than the positive ones because they focused on how the mushroom coffee affected them. Many said it did nothing and was less effective than a cup of coffee.
MUD WTR has nearly 50,000 reviews on its website and a score of 4.5 stars. Unfortunately, you can’t filter the reviews, and scrolling down feeds you only super positive reviews.
Looking at Trust Pilot, though, reveals an entirely different picture. With a poor score of 2.5, most people share that the taste is unpalatable, which mirrors my opinion.
Price
| Mushroom Coffee | 1 Bag | 2 Bags / 1 Bag Subscription | 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 per serving | $30.40 / $0.95 per serving | $57.60 / $0.90 per serving |
| MUD WTR | $60.00 / $2.00 per serving | $40.00 / $1.33 per serving |
My Experience With Four Sigmatic And MUD WTR
Neither of the two products remained in my morning routine after the trial.
I tried Four Sigmatic instead of conventional coffee in the morning, and it did increase my energy levels to a lesser extent.
I don’t think I’ve felt more focused or alert. However, the health benefits occur “behind the scenes,” making it impossible for me to confidently say how beneficial the product is.
At least the taste was solid. I enjoyed drinking a cup every morning despite sometimes longing for my regular coffee.
As I said in the taste paragraph, MUD WTR is hard to drink. The much larger doses and more ingredients have a higher potential for benefits, making the mixture too dense and MUD-like.
The energy boost cannot rival that of regular coffee, while the rest of the benefits are hard to notice by their nature. After all, it’s not easy to determine if your immune system works better.
But because of the taste and the low caffeine dose, I admit I couldn’t finish the one-month test I had planned for MUD WTR.
Should You Choose Four Sigmatic Or MUD WTR?
Four Sigmatic has a simpler formulation, and it does provide some benefits while being cheaper and drastically better tasting, so I recommend that people at least try it.
On the other hand, MUD WTR includes many more components, and most are in solid doses, so the potential for many benefits is there, but only if you find a way to make the taste bearable. I know I couldn’t.
The $2.00 per cup also does not favor MUD WTR. Instead of both products, I recommend you try Nootrum Coffee Fusion, which is full of efficacious medicinal mushrooms and caffeine and tastes almost as good as regular coffee.
Winner
Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee
A mushroom coffee rich in Lion’s Mane Mushroom with a better coffee taste.
CHECK CURRENT DEALSRunner Up
MUD WTR
A mushroom coffee with an acquired taste that is lacking in mushroom dose.
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.
- 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.
- Lai, P. L., Naidu, M., Sabaratnam, V., Wong, K. H., David, R. P., Kuppusamy, U. R., … & Malek, S. N. A. (2013). Neurotrophic properties of the Lion’s mane medicinal mushroom, Hericium erinaceus (Higher Basidiomycetes) from Malaysia. International journal of medicinal mushrooms, 15(6).
- 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.
- Petrone, A. B., Gaziano, J. M., & Djoussé, L. (2013). Effects of dark chocolate and cocoa products on endothelial function: a meta-analysis. Current Nutrition Reports, 2, 267-273.
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