5 Ways to Make Coffee Even More Awesome

I’m a bit of a culinary historian. Well, that’s not entirely true. But I watch a lot of Food Network and try to model my life (and biceps) after Robert Irvine. Anyways, over the course of human history, people have consistently taken food or drink and tried to make it worse. Hence the rapid and alarming rise in obesity, diabetes and other diseases linked to the over-consumption of processed, artificial crap. Through extensive research, I’ve complied a list of the five greatest culinary crimes against humanity:

• Overcooked steak
• Light beer
• Iceberg lettuce
• Turkey bacon
• Weak coffee

That last one is especially important. Weak coffee sucks. Talk about ruining an otherwise-great thing. It’s like Kevin James in Hitch – a sweet, funny, handsome guy held back by his lack of self-esteem and lousy dance moves. Coffee just needs a little Will Smith magic – a sense of direction to help it realize how great it can be.

I think everyone should drink coffee. It’s numerous health benefits have caused a buzz in the media recently. Studies suggest it lowers your risk of diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and certain cancers. Even if caffeine makes you antsy, decaf still provides the same protection against disease. It’s nature’s perfect pre-workout drink because it raises your heart rate, improves focus, enhances fat burning and decreases perceived exertion during exercise (i.e. the exercise feels easier so you can do more). 

The problem is 99 percent of people “need” coffee. They need it so bad that they don’t care whether it’s good coffee or bad coffee. Good coffee rarely gets the chance to shine in our world of K-Cups and non-dairy creamers (these just missed the cut for the culinary crimes list). People just don’t know the difference.

And get this – mass-produced, non-organic coffee doesn’t yield the same health benefits as organic coffee. Ordinary coffee is made from moldy beans, which have higher levels of mycotoxins and can make you sick. Ever wonder why a cup of 7-Eleven brew makes you feel wacky and “uneven” while coffee from a gourmet café makes you feel invincible? It’s in the quality of the beans.

Once you learn to appreciate a good cup of Joe, you’ll never go back to the atrocities of Folgers or McCafé . A cup of organic, low-acidity coffee ground from whole beans is unbeatable.

Here are five ways to make coffee even more awesome:

1. ADD HEAVY CREAM

Forget half-and-half. Forget skim. Go for the real stuff – heavy whipping cream. And I don’t mean whipped cream from a spray can. I’m talking the heavenly, delicious stuff from grass-fed cows.

Heavy cream has virtually zero carbs, which is great for people who backload their carbs and want to limit insulin spikes early in the day. It’s mostly fat, which means the lactose content is low and it doesn’t cause digestive issues like regular milk.

Grab a bottle or carton of the grass-fed organic stuff, which comes from cows given fewer hormones, pesticides and antibiotics compared to grain-fed cows. Organic Valley is a good brand that you can find at most grocery stores, and Whole Foods sometimes carries locally-produced stuff. When I visit family in Vermont, I always grab a bottle produced at a small local farm.

Add a tablespoon to black coffee, stir and enjoy.

2. ADD COCONUT OIL

Another healthy fat, coconut oil is primarily made of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs). MCTs are nothing short of amazing. When consumed, they are used for energy so rapidly that they are almost impossible to store as fat tissue. Not only do MCTs give you an immediate boost of energy, but they ramp up the body’s ability to burn fat. So MCTs plus caffeine gives you a double-whammy of fat melting magic.

Grab a jar of Dr. Bronner’s or another organic, fair-trade brand. Put a tablespoon or two in your morning cup of coffee and enjoy hours of energy and enhanced fat burning. It also adds a mild coconut flavor which is a nice alternative to milk or sugar.

Bonus tip: coconut oil is hands down the best cooking oil out there. I won’t pan fry in anything else. It’s extremely heat-resistant so it doesn’t burn at high temperatures.

3. ADD BUTTER

You’ve heard of buttering your morning toast, but your morning coffee? Yes, it’s true. And it’s awesome.

The Bulletproof Executive, a health-and-well-being company focused on high performance through optimal diet, popularized buttered coffee with Bulletproof Coffee, which is infused with grass-fed butter and MCTs (the healthy fats in coconut oil). It’s a pretty specialized blend, which is why the Today Show totally goofed when they did a segment on simply adding crappy butter to cheap coffee. They kind of missed the point.

Butter makes everything better, as long as it’s from grass-fed cows. And are you picking up on the healthy fat trend here? There are a few reasons why supplementing some extra fat is good for health and fitness.

First, we tend to over-consume fats in the form of refined oils (canola, soybean, etc.) from processed foods, which contain far more Omega-6 fatty acids compared to Omega-3. This can lead to increased inflammation, which is linked to a host of diseases and an overall feeling of crappiness. Opt for more whole-food fat sources from organic meats, butters, coconut, eggs and avocado.

But what about the cholesterol, you say? Won’t it clog my arteries? Well, consuming cholesterol from food actually has little to do with how much stays in your body because our body auto-regulates and produces less endogenous cholesterol (i.e. the cholesterol our body naturally produces on its own) when we eat foods containing cholesterol. Not only that, but research consistently shows that eating a moderate amount of saturated fat and cholesterol from whole food sources can raise HDL cholesterol (commonly known as “good cholesterol”) which has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Now that the cholesterol myth is out of the way, some people raise an eyebrow at the thought of putting butter in coffee. It’s a bit like heavy cream, but not quite as sweet. It mellows out any bitterness and makes for a unique flavor when blended with coconut oil.

4. ADD PROTEIN

See? There’s more to just adding fat to coffee. A scoop of whey protein is an awesome way to add some flavor and substance to your brew of choice.

Let’s cut to the chase – a scoop of chocolate whey protein in coffee is as tasty as any mocha latte I’ve had, plus it’s a lot healthier. Moving on…

The coffee-protein combo is a good way to go if you don’t like eating a solid breakfast but need some morning nutrition. If I’m not practicing intermittent fasting on a given day, sometimes I’ll have a tablespoon of Athletic Greens in water to start, then drop a scoop of protein in about 16 ounces of coffee. This gives me a ton of energy and holds me over til midday when I’m ready for a whole food meal.

Some research also suggests that caffeine can aid recovery after a hard workout by improving glycogen resynthesis (i.e. your muscles replenish their fuel stores more quickly). So making a smoothie with some cold coffee, whey protein and crushed ice can be a refreshing alternative to the run-of-the-mill post-workout shake.

5. USE AS A DRY RUB FOR MEATS

Here’s a curve ball for you, but it might be the best of them all. Coffee grounds actually taste amazing as part of a dry rub for steak, chicken and other meats. Just add it in to whatever spice mixture you use, season the meat, cook and devour.

Coffee adds deep, roasted flavor that seems to go well with garlic, chili powder, paprika and other traditional barbecue seasonings.

GOOD TO THE LAST DROP

It’s hard to overstate the awesomeness of coffee, but these five tricks can bring your coffee appreciation to new heights. If you can’t get enough java, try these methods and expand your coffee horizons beyond your morning routine.