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

What is Bulletproof Coffee? What are its supposed benefits, how should it be consumed for weight loss, and is it actually harmful to the body? The story begins, improbably, on a Tibetan mountainside.

The Surprising Origin of Bulletproof Coffee

You may not have heard of Bulletproof Coffee, but you have almost certainly heard of Tibetan butter tea.

Butter tea is a traditional Tibetan beverage, often consumed as a staple alongside tsampa. It is prized for its warming, refreshing, thirst-quenching qualities and is one of the essential drinks Tibetans serve to guests. What could this ancient drink possibly have to do with a trendy Silicon Valley coffee? The story below reveals the connection.

Dave Asprey is a 45-year-old American who was once a technology executive in Silicon Valley. A few years ago, he founded his own distinctive coffee brand company: Bulletproof Coffee (Bulletproof 360).

Since its launch, Bulletproof Coffee has taken the world by storm, counting some American celebrities among its fans. The brand's success made Asprey a "successful" entrepreneur — but what sets him apart from other entrepreneurs is his ambitious goal: to live to 180 years old. That is not a joke; he is 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." Biohackers are people who attempt to use technology to "upgrade" their bodies — in other words, people who might seem a little crazy to the rest of us.

For example, Asprey undergoes bone marrow extraction every six months, then injects some of the harvested stem cells back into his body. He regularly spends time in cryotherapy chambers cooled with liquid nitrogen, exposes himself to infrared light, and uses electrodes to stimulate his brain.

Asprey's quest for "immortality" carries a hefty price tag. Fortunately, he has Bulletproof Coffee to provide the financial backing.

Bulletproof Coffee

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

Of course, you do not need to buy Asprey's branded version. You can use any coffee, then add butter and pure coconut oil to prepare the drink yourself. Asprey claims Bulletproof Coffee improves physical and mental health, and some say it even has remarkable weight-loss effects.

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

Tibetan Butter Tea

What inspired Asprey to create Bulletproof Coffee was, in fact, Tibetan butter tea. In 2004, Asprey journeyed to Tibet — and the main reason for the trip was his health.

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

The Inspiration Behind Bulletproof Coffee

After returning home to California, Asprey could not forget the experience, so he began creating his own version of butter tea. Tibetan butter tea uses milk from yaks unique to the Tibetan plateau, but there are no yaks in California — so he substituted a similar product: butter/cream.

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

Asprey first shared the benefits of the drink on his blog; three years later, he began selling the three ingredients online. Investors followed — one of them an early investor in Starbucks. In 2016, the American premium supermarket chain Whole Foods Market began stocking Bulletproof Coffee, giving the brand a significant boost.

Criticism

Asprey has also drawn criticism, particularly from health professionals, who point out that he has no medical qualifications or nutrition training. Critics also note that coffee loaded with butter is not intrinsically healthy.

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

Aisling Pigott, a registered dietitian with the British Dietetic Association, is sharper in her criticism. She sees no benefit in adding butter to coffee and says she would not recommend such a breakfast to anyone, because it lacks protein, vitamins, and minerals and merely adds extra calories and fat.

Asprey is unbothered by the criticism. He cites health professionals who argue that high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets benefit many people, and notes that he previously suffered from arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, cognitive dysfunction, and pre-diabetic symptoms — placing him in a high-risk group for stroke and heart disease. In short, his health was terrible at the time. Since drinking Bulletproof Coffee, he says, "all these symptoms have disappeared."

He points out that, unlike modern dietary fads, his beverage is based on a drink with roots in ancient Tibetan tradition — 4000 years old, by his telling — so he does not mind becoming part of that long history. (Translator's note: Tibetan butter tea actually dates back only several hundred years.)

When and How to Drink Bulletproof Coffee?

The coconut oil in Bulletproof Coffee is rich in medium-chain fatty acids, which the body can break down quickly to produce ketones — a direct energy source, especially for brain cells. The butter is rich in saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, and quickly enhances satiety.

If you still feel hungry afterward, it may be because you added too little butter or drank too little. Try a larger cup first and let your body adapt. If hunger persists, consider eating a small breakfast about two hours after drinking.

Source: BBC

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Bulletproof-style drinks work best over a coffee with enough body to stand up to the butter and coconut oil. FrontStreet Coffee recommends the Brazil Queen Estate beans: milder and more balanced than a punchy Mandheling, with clear nut, cocoa, and caramel aromas, a rounded and silky mouthfeel, low acidity, and prominent sweetness. Whether brewed as pour-over, moka pot, or espresso, it delivers a consistently stable result — and its naturally good crema has made it a long-time favorite "daily bean" for home brewers, especially those who prefer a traditional coffee flavor.

If you prefer something even heavier and more earthy-herbal as your base, FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling is the classic choice: fragrant and intense, with clove and woody aromatics, low acidity from the medium-dark roast, spice and mint notes, and a strong, persistent, thick sweetness — very much in the traditional wet-hulled Sumatran style.

Whichever base you choose, brew it a little stronger than usual (a smaller ratio in a moka pot or espresso machine works well), then blend in the butter and coconut oil until fully emulsified for the smoothest, most satisfying cup.