I Tried 'Smart Coffee' – and It's Actually Great

If you're anything like the rest of us, you start your day with a cup of coffee, desperately praying it will kickstart your brain into a state of focused productivity. But, all too often, that gorgeous little caffeine jolt comes with a side of jitters, anxiety and the inevitable crash. 

London Nootropics is part of a wave of companies that have popped up in recent years, promising a drink that delivers all the perks of your regular cup of joe while minimising those pesky side effects. Adaptogens are their secret sauce. In a nutshell, adaptogens are active ingredients in certain plants and mushrooms that help our bodies deal with stress, anxiety and fatigue. Don’t panic: That doesn’t mean London Nootropics is caffeine-free – each blend still contains everyone’s favourite daytime stimulant. 

Of course, caffeine also has a dark side – it can increase our cortisol levels and leave people feeling on edge. That's where the adaptogens swoop in – they’re said to gracefully balance out your stress hormones and allows you to enjoy the benefits of caffeine without the unwanted consequences. At least, that’s what London Nootropics claims. So, as a perpetually anxious freelancer, and an avid coffee drinker who gets through 2-3 cups a days, I tried three of their blends to figure out if “smart coffee”, as it’s called, is worth it. 

London Nootropics offers an array of carefully crafted adaptogenic coffee blends, each with a designated purpose. The first one, Flow, is designed to enhance mental clarity and focus; Zen is meant togently coax your frazzled nerves back to a state of tranquility and Mojo, with the help ofy Cordyceps mushroom, is supposed to enhance your aerobic capacity and boost oxygen flow throughout your body. 

After trying all three blends over the course of a couple of weeks, Mojo became my favourite for the taste and for its effects. Surprisingly, I almost felt like I could smell the mushroom (ew), which initially deterred me. But once you’re drinking it, it just tasted like really nice coffee. Maybe it really was the oxygen working its magic – or maybe it was just a placebo effect – but two cups really boosted my productivity on the days I had a heavy workload. 

I liked Zen and Flow as well, but can’t say I felt the promised effects as clearly as I did with Mojo. The taste, however, remained great – none of them taste like the cheap instant stuff. I usually feel quite jittery by my third cup of regular coffee, and I do have to say that the absence of caffeine shakes was a welcome change from my usual morning routine.

What works for me might not necessarily be the ultimate fit for anyone else, and I have to emphasise that the efficacy of adaptogenic coffee differs from person to person. The positive mixing of adaptogens and caffeine have been well-researched, but in the same way some caffeine fiends are triple-shot white chocolate frappuccino types and others are black-coffee- with-no-sugar people, you may not find some adaptogenic coffee to your taste. It's smartest to listen to your body and find the blend that suits you best.

If you want to give adaptogenic coffee a try, you can head to the London Nootropic website and score an exclusive 15% discount with the code VICE15. 

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