What is Bulletproof Coffee? What are its benefits, how should it be consumed for weight loss, and is it harmful to the body?

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

For more premium coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of FrontStreet Coffee, WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

The Surprising Origin of Bulletproof Coffee

You may not have heard of Bulletproof Coffee, but you've definitely heard of Tibetan butter tea.

Butter tea is a traditional Tibetan beverage. It's often consumed as a staple food alongside tsampa, providing effects such as cold resistance, mental refreshment, thirst quenching, and saliva production. It's one of the essential foods that Tibetans use to entertain guests. But what exactly is the connection between Bulletproof Coffee and butter tea? The following story reveals this fascinating relationship.

Dave Asprey is a 45-year-old American. He was originally a technology executive in Silicon Valley, but a few years ago, he created his own unique coffee brand company: Bulletproof Coffee (Bulletproof 360).

Since its launch, Bulletproof Coffee has taken the world by storm, with fans including some American celebrities. The founding of this brand also made Asprey a "successful" entrepreneur. However, what sets Asprey apart from other entrepreneurs is his ambitious goal: to live to 180 years old. This is not a joke—he's completely serious about it.

The Biohacker

In the eyes of many, Asprey might seem a bit "strange." He even calls himself "the world's first professional biohacker." So-called biohackers are those who attempt to use technology to "improve" their physical condition—in other words, people who might seem a bit crazy to many of us.

For example, Asprey undergoes bone marrow extraction every six months, then injects some of the stem cells from his bone marrow back into his entire body. Additionally, he often spends time in cryotherapy chambers, using liquid nitrogen coolant to cool his body. He also exposes himself to infrared light and uses electrodes to stimulate his brain.

Asprey's attempts at "immortality" come with a hefty price tag. Fortunately, he has Bulletproof Coffee to provide him with financial backing.

Bulletproof Coffee

Bulletproof Coffee is essentially a beverage made by adding cream and pure coconut oil to black coffee.

Of course, you don't need to buy Asprey's original Bulletproof Coffee. You can use any coffee, then add any cream and pure coconut oil to prepare this beverage. Asprey claims that Bulletproof Coffee can help improve people's physical and mental health. Some say it also has remarkable weight loss effects.

Asprey began selling Bulletproof Coffee in 2012, and it's estimated that he has sold 160 million cups of Bulletproof Coffee. The brand is headquartered in Seattle, and Bulletproof Coffee has attracted $68 million in investment. Besides its specialty coffee, the business has now expanded to cover multiple products including food and lifestyle items.

Tibetan Butter Tea

What inspired Asprey to create Bulletproof Coffee was actually Tibetan butter tea. In 2004, Asprey embarked on a journey to Tibet. The main reason that prompted him to travel to Tibet was also related to his health.

Although Asprey was successful in his Silicon Valley career at the time, he was overweight (his weight once reached 136 kilograms) and in poor health. To improve his health, Asprey hoped to learn meditation in Tibet. One day, while climbing a mountain, someone gave him a bowl of Tibetans' traditional beverage: butter tea. After drinking this bowl of butter tea, Asprey felt refreshed and clear-headed—a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time.

The Inspiration Behind Bulletproof Coffee

After ending his journey to Tibet and returning home to California, Asprey couldn't forget this experience. So he began to create his own version of butter tea. Tibetan butter tea uses milk from yaks unique to the Tibetan region, but there are no yaks in California. He used a similar product—"cream"—as a substitute.

At the same time, Asprey replaced tea with coffee. His idea was that coffee should be more effective than tea. But after trying it, he felt something was still missing, so Asprey added pure coconut oil rich in medium-chain triglycerides. He drinks this Bulletproof Coffee every morning. He once stated that Bulletproof Coffee "changed his life and helped him lose 45 kilograms."

Subsequently, Asprey first shared the benefits of this beverage on his blog; three years later, he began selling the three ingredients of Bulletproof Coffee online. Then, people started investing in him, with one investor also being an early investor in American Starbucks Coffee. In 2016, Whole Foods Market, the American chain of premium supermarkets, began stocking Bulletproof Coffee, giving the brand a significant boost.

Criticism

However, Asprey has also faced criticism, particularly from professionals in the health industry. They point out that Asprey has no medical qualifications or nutrition training. Critics also note that coffee with cream is not healthy.

Despite the ongoing skepticism, some professionals admit that Bulletproof Coffee has considerable influence. Jonny Forsyth, head of global food and beverage market research firm Mintel, said that while the health benefits of Bulletproof Coffee are somewhat unclear, it caters to consumer psychology by promising a "healthier," more powerful beverage that can maintain high energy levels for extended periods.

But Aisling Pigott, a registered dietitian with the British Dietetic Association, offers sharp criticism. She believes there are no benefits to adding cream to coffee. She states that she would not recommend such a breakfast to anyone because it lacks protein, vitamins, and minerals, only adding extra calories and fat.

Asprey isn't worried about such criticism. He quotes some health professionals saying that high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets are beneficial for people. He also mentioned that he previously had arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, cognitive dysfunction, and pre-diabetic symptoms, placing him in a high-risk group for stroke and heart disease. In summary, his physical condition was terrible at the time. But since drinking Bulletproof Coffee, "all these symptoms have disappeared."

He stated that unlike modern dietary trends, his beverage is based on a 4000-year-old traditional Tibetan drink. Therefore, he doesn't mind becoming part of this long history. (Translator's note: Tibetan butter tea actually only has a history of several hundred years.)

When and How to Drink Bulletproof Coffee?

The coconut oil in Bulletproof Coffee is rich in medium-chain fatty acids, which can be simply broken down to produce ketones, directly providing energy for the body to use, especially for brain cells. The cream is rich in saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, and can quickly enhance satiety.

If you still feel hungry afterward, it might be because you added too little cream or drank too little. I would suggest trying a larger cup first. Let your body adapt and see if there are any issues. If you still experience hunger after drinking, you might consider eating a small breakfast two hours after consumption.

Source: BBC

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473