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Coffee Tips

Why Do People Put Butter in Their Coffee?

Most people add either milk, coconut milk, almond milk, or creamer to their coffee. As a coffee lover, you’ve probably tried one of these additives.

butter in coffee.

However, putting butter in coffee is something that may sound quite crazy for many people. You’ve probably never heard about it. However, some coffee lovers have been putting butter in their coffee for quite some time now.

But why do some people like adding butter to coffee? In most instances, butter is added to coffee with the aim of gaining certain health benefits from butter.

Some argue that butter in coffee slows down the rate of absorbing caffeine. Thus, you’ll delay the caffeine crash that comes with drinking caffeinated coffee. Also, it’s argued that adding butter to coffee promotes weight loss.

Before you assume that it’s weird to add butter to your coffee, it’ll help to separate the myths from the facts on this debate. In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits and health risks of putting butter in your coffee. That way, you’ll find it easier to decide whether to try this coffee.

 

What is Butter Coffee?

Although butter coffee has only gained interest in modern health conversations recently, it has been around for quite a long time.

Butter coffee comprises brewed coffee, medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) oil, and unsalted butter. It’s relatively similar to keto coffee (also known as bulletproof coffee) that uses grass-fed butter and MCT oil in its ingredients. Unlike keto coffee that requires using special coffee, butter coffee can be made with any coffee.

Generally, butter coffee is served for breakfast, especially for individuals who are following a special keto diet that involves low carbs and high fat intake.

 

How to Make Butter Coffee

Before discussing the reasons why people add unsalted butter to coffee, it’ll help to learn how to make tasty butter coffee at home. You can make it with a blender, whisk, or a French press.

 

Recipe for making butter coffee using a blender:

Step 1- Brew coffee with a French press.

Step 2- Add the coffee (1 serving) into a blender.

Step 3- Add 1 spoonful of butter. You can use grass-fed, unsalted, or high-fat butter.

Step 4- Add enough coconut oil.

Step 5- Blend the contents until the mixture forms the desired consistency. You can experiment until you get it right by reducing or increasing the blending time.

 

Recipe for making butter coffee using a whisk:

If you don’t have a blender, you can prepare butter coffee with the help of a whisk. Here’s how to go about it:

Step 1- Brew coffee with a French press.

Step 2- Add 1 serving of the French press coffee into a bowl, preferably a large one.

Step 3- Add 1 spoonful of butter. Preferably, use softened butter since you don’t have a blender.

Step 4- Add enough coconut oil.

Step 5- Whisk the ingredients gently and slowly. Whisk with broad strokes to break and mix the butter.

Step 6- Increase your whisking speed gradually. Incorporate air while whisking.

Step 7- Continue whisking until you get the preferred consistency.

 

Recipe for making butter coffee using a French press:

As you can see, all these recipes use a French press to make the base coffee. That’s because French press coffee doesn’t filter coffee oils. Thus, the finished product will have a maximum amount of coffee oils. Essentially, you need these oils in butter coffee. A French press allows oils to end up in your cup of coffee as it doesn’t use a paper filter. If you use coffee brewing methods that use a paper filter, some essential coffee oils will be filtered from the brew.

If you don’t want to transfer the base coffee from your French press or you want to use fewer utensils, you can proceed to make butter coffee in your French press. Here’s how to go about it:

Step 1- Brew one serving of French press coffee in a French press.

Step 2- Pour the brew into a coffee mug. Set the brew aside.

Step 3- Pour out the used coffee grounds from the French press.

Step 4- Rinse the device. However, it’s optional to rinse it. In case you don’t have any problem with some grounds mixing with your butter coffee, you can proceed without rinsing.

Step 5- Next, pour back the ready coffee into your French press.

Step 6- Add softened butter.

Step 7- Add some little coconut oil.

Step 8- Once done, place the lid in place.

Step 9- Next, press the plunger down gently and slowly. Then move it upward and downward a little faster. However, avoid causing big splashes.

Step 10- Continue moving the plunger downward and upward until the brew forms the preferred consistency.

 

Nutrient Composition of Butter Coffee

An 8-ounce or 237 ml serving of butter coffee (2 tablespoons) contains an average of 445 calories, 50 grams of fat, 9 percent of the recommended daily intake of sodium, and 20 percent of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin A.

About 85 percent of the fat found in butter coffee comprises saturated fat. Research findings suggest that consuming saturated fat isn’t directly linked to developing heart disease, but it may increase risk factors of developing heart disease. Research findings show that replacing your daily consumption of saturated fat with polyunsaturated fats such as seeds, fatty fish, and nuts can reduce the risk of developing heart disease.

 

Benefits of Adding Butter to Coffee

Enthusiasts of butter coffee love it for various reasons. It offers benefits such as:

  1. Suppresses hunger

It’s argued that butter coffee reduces the feeling of hunger and promotes weight loss. Its proponents argue that since it reduces the feeling of hunger, you’ll reduce your food intake, thereby losing weight.

Does butter coffee help in weight loss? Butter is high in fat. Thus, it slows the digestion process. As a result, you’ll feel fuller. Butter contains coconut oil that’s rich in MCT. MCT is a fat that promotes the feeling of fullness, unlike long-chain triglycerides (LCT) fats, which include the fats found in meat, nuts, and oils.

Research also shows that following a low-calorie diet with added MCTs reduces hunger and enhances weight loss more than consuming a diet containing LCTs. Adding MCT oils to a low-calorie diet promotes fullness. Consequently, these oils enhance short-term fat loss when consumed as a substitute for LCTs. Also, research shows that adding MCT oils to your daily diet without observing other changes in your diet promotes weight loss.

  1. Boosts mental clarity

Consuming butter coffee boosts mental clarity. It also improves cognitive function. When observing a keto diet, the liver converts MCT oils into ketones, which become the main energy source for the brain cells.

When the brain utilizes ketones, there’s reduced likelihood of developing neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. However, it’s the caffeine content in butter coffee that boosts alertness and mental focus rather than the butter ingredient.

  1. Boosts energy

Drinking butter coffee offers a steady and longer-lasting energy boost than regular coffee. Also, butter coffee won’t give you a quick sugar crash. Essentially, the MCTs in butter coffee slows down the absorption of caffeine, thereby allowing for a prolonged energy boost.

Also, MCTs are broken down rapidly for faster absorption. Thus, MCTs are an instant source of energy. They’re also converted into ketones in a keto diet. The ketones offer a prolonged energy boost.

  1. Contains essential vitamins

Butter coffee contains important nutrients including vitamins A, E, and K. It also contains calcium. Among these nutrients, vitamin A is the most abundant nutrient in butter coffee. Vitamin A is important in boosting skin health. Also, vitamin A promotes good vision and improves immune function.

 

Health Risks of Consuming Butter Coffee

Although butter coffee offers several health benefits, it comes with some health risks including:

  1. Excessive calories

Butter coffee isn’t the best drink to take in place of a balanced diet. Substituting butter coffee with a well-balanced breakfast eliminates several important nutrients from your diet. Besides, drinking butter coffee adds unnecessary calories to your diet. Your breakfast will luck essential nutrients such as vitamins, protein, minerals, and fiber. For instance, a breakfast comprising scrambled eggs, spinach, oatmeal with berries and flaxseed is more nutritious than a cup of butter coffee.

  1. May cause gastrointestinal issues

Butter coffee contains a lot of fat. Thus, it can cause gastrointestinal issues such as stomach discomfort, diarrhea, and bloating, especially for individuals who aren’t used to consuming a lot of fat.

  1. Contains cholesterol

Butter coffee adds cholesterol to your diet. Although dietary cholesterol may not affect your cholesterol levels significantly, it can raise the blood cholesterol for individuals who are hyper-responders to cholesterol. Research shows that about 25 percent of people across the globe are hyper-responders to dietary cholesterol. Anyone who’s a hyper-responder should avoid drinking butter coffee.

 

How to Drink Butter Coffee Safely

If you’re following a keto diet, consider other nutritious and keto-friendly foods such as avocado, spinach, and eggs prepared with coconut oil rather than drinking butter coffee. That way, you’ll observe your ketogenic diet without missing out on essential nutrients.

Regardless, if you’ve tried butter coffee and liked it, ensure you consume it moderately. If you replace your breakfast with butter coffee, ensure your lunch and dinner includes a balanced and nutritious diet. At least, your lunch and dinner should contain extra vegetables, fruits, and protein. Also, cut the fat content in the rest of your meals, unless you’re observing a strict keto diet.

Since butter contains a lot of saturated fat, prioritize on polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats such as seeds, fish oil, nuts, and avocados during other meals.