(If you came here while trying to visit my main blog, “Brad Rourke’s Blog,” welcome! I’ve recently set up this wellness blog and shifted over some existing content, updating the link references.)
As many of my friends know, for some years now I have eliminated almost all grains from my life. Save for the occasional cheat, I do not eat wheat or any other grain. I try to avoid added sugar and anything processed. My diet consists of meat (especially grass fed beef and bacon), green vegetables (broccoli, kale, spinach), and nuts (almonds). For treats I eat dried fruit like raisins, cranberries, and dates — but I am trying to reduce those.
The result of this way of eating is that your body ceases running primarily on sugar (which the body derives from carbohydrates like wheat) and instead runs on fats. It is important, therefore, to get enough healthy fats.
One way to do this is to eat a lot of grass fed butter. (Cows that are grass fed create food that is good for you and has a healthy balance of things like Omega 3 fats, etc.). David Asprey, who founded the Bulletproof Executive, has developed a great way to have a cup of morning coffee and get lots of the good stuff.
My trainer, Grant Hill, recently turned me on to Asprey’s “Bulletproof Coffee.” I am now a convert. A cup of this will charge up your morning and power you into lunchtime easy. It sounds insane, but it is quite tasty (like a latte) and way easy to make.
I could not find a good tutorial (i.e., one with step by step photos for the simpleminded like me) on how to make Bulletproof Coffee, so I thought I would post one here.
Enjoy.
INGREDIENTS:
- 500 ml of GOOD coffee. Organic is best. Using good water when you brew the coffee helps — you can run some through a refrigerator water filter to purify it (or use another type of filter).
- up to 80g of grass fed butter, unsalted. Kerrygold, at Trader Joe’s, is good. [UPDATE: Not salted, not grain fed.]
- 1TB give or take of coconut oil (optional).
First, brew the coffee.
The kettle’s on
Melitta is still the best way to get awesome coffee
Pour the brewed coffee into a blender.
Then get your butter and coconut oil ready:
Kerrygold unsalted butter, use about 2TBs. Coconut oil not pictured.
Toss it all into the blender with the coffee.
Now . . . blend for about 20 seconds:
Blend for 20 seconds, until frothy.
It will look like this when at rest:
The froth.
Enjoy!
Yum! Tastes like a latte. Add stevia for sweetness if desired.
Let me know if you try it.
Sounds like pure genius, Brad! I gotta try that.
Thanks, Sam, let me know if you like it! I find it needs some sweet, so I add a dash of stevia.
Do you use any other special equipment or special ingredients, e.g., filtered water, the actual “Bulletproof” brand coffee, a special ceramic thingy that holds the filter, or perhaps an electric kettle?
Lately, I do use the “Upgraded” coffee, but it is not required. I bought a bag of Counter Culture coffee at Dawson’s and it works well too — Kenya Thiriku-Nyeri. The trick with the coffee is to make sure it is not moldy (so no/few mycotoxins). The best way to do that is get organic and make sure it is from SINGLE LOTS — all beans from one farm. Roasters that know enough to do that typically also have a good lid on the process.
As for equipment, nothing special: a teakettle (cheap stovetop); a Melitta filter cone; a blender (or immersion blender). Plain tap water is what I use; I may try filtered. The grass fed butter is Kerrygold from Trader Joe’s, and the coconut oil is the house brand from Dawson’s.
[...] coconut oil and quality butter in a blender. It sounds strange, but it tastes pretty damn good. How I Make ‘Bulletproof Coffee’ | Brad Rourke's Blog The theory is that a meal of fat only doesn't spike your insulin levels and you can essentially [...]
Great post, but I am having a problem finding butter that eats grass. Where do you shop?
Ha ha, thanks Sheilah! I am assuming that’s a joke . . . but in case there are others who are curious where to get butter from grass-fed cows, Kerrygold is a great brand, available at Trader Joe’s.
OMGosh…I just made this as an afternoon treat. So good!!!!
Glad you like, Janelle!
Interesting. Is the coffee still hot, the water having been filtered (sans heating element)–and then adding butter, and then blending…? Or is this not designed as a hot coffee drink…?
Wayne, that’s right. Just hot coffee. Add butter and coconut oil . . . and blend.
Does caffeine free coffee work, or does it have to be the real thing? I gave up coffee a ouple of years ago and I’m not sure if I can tolerate caffeine anymore.
Anne, I would look for another way to get your healthy fats instead. Problem with decaf coffee is that part of the deal with Bulletproof coffee is to get the BEST coffee possible with no mold or toxins. (It’s not just about swilling a bunch of butter.) Caffeine protects coffee beans from mold . . . decaf coffee is more likely to have bad stuff.
i still don’t understand about the temperature of the drink. The coffee has to be near cold by the time you finish blending everything. I like my coffee hot. Is it ok to microwave it after you blend all of the ingredients or is room temperature the desired or proper way to consume it ?
It takes about 4 mins for the water to boil, then no more than 60 seconds to brew the coffee. I immediately toss in the butter and coconut oil and blend. Blend for 20 seconds, give or take, then pour into whatever cup. The beverage is still piping hot, as hot as a regular cup of coffee.
Start to finish, from water out of the faucet to drink in my hand — it takes 12 minutes for me even in the morning with my lizard brain. a third of that time is waiting for water to boil.
[...] with cinnamon and vanilla, but after a while I acquired a taste for it. I also used coconut oil and grassfed butter in my coffee towards the end of the detox and those were also enjoyable. But if black coffee is not your thing, [...]
This was awesome…thanks. Definitely no need to add any sweetener…the butter and coconut oil take the bitterness out of the coffee on their own.
One word of caution…both my friend and I made the same “mistake” (whatever it may be) and had coffee blow all over our kitchens on the start of the blend cycle. Hold that lid on tight!
I had the same thing happen to me! Yes…hold on tight!
If you are concerned about the coffee getting cold, make the best investment in whole food consumption and buy a vitamin blender. It can blend so fast that it will take warm water and make it steaming hot. It is amazing.
[...] http://well.bradrourke.com/2012/12/how-i-make-bulletproof-coffee/ [...]
Hi Brad! Quick question: i usually make my bulletproof coffee with 1Tbs of butter and 2Tbs of coconut oil. Is it suppose to be the opposite? in other words should it be 2Tbs of butter and only 1Tbs of coconut oil? like the way you do it? Please let me know. Thanks!
Thanks!! I actually don’t worry about it too much…lately I try to get at least 2 TBS of each more or less.
[...] coffee is amazing, so much better than heavy cream, but make sure you use the blender. http://well.bradrourke.com/2012/12/how-i-make-bulletproof-coffee/ I haven’t tried it yet because I’m drinking tea right now, but if you are a coffee [...]
[...] you could also swop out the MCT oil for coconut oil (which also contains MCT, but is just less concentrated), try adding stevia for a sweet taste or [...]
decaf isn’t moldy:
but i do like how it tastes when i get it from a local beanery that uses this process
http://www.swisswater.com/consumer/swiss-water-process
I appreciate this review. I’m definitely going to give this bulletproof coffee thing a try. I’ve been reading-up on the concept as much as possible. Now, I’m in.
Just tried this for the first time. It tasted like a soy latte to me. So good!!
Hi,
I can’t wait to try this! I don’t have butter(iv never like the taste) but could I just do it with coconut oil? Will I reap the same benefits!
My morning (before workout) is
1/2C canned coconut milk
2T instant coffee(is instant bad?)
Ice
Sometimes 1/2frozen banana if need the extra kick!
Let me know what u think?
Ideally if you can get pure MCT oil instead of coconut oil, (David sells it on his bulletproofexec website now) it really adds to the brain stimulation of this drink. I just ordered some, its just unfortunately expensive, but its pure MCT so I guess you get what you pay for. I can’t even drink other coffee anymore, this stuff is amazing.
I added some of Dave Asprey’s Upgraded Chocolate Powder from upgradedself.com to my bulletproof coffee this morning and discovered that a very little bit of the powder (really just organic cocoa) goes a very long way.