Bulletproof Coffee Done Wrong

How does it taste, really?
A lot of people who ask us about Bulletproof Coffee ask the most obvious question that comes to mind when you hear the words "butter" "coffee" and "oil" in one sentence: "How does it taste?"

Done right, it tastes like the best latte you've ever had.
Just as "How does it taste?" is the usual first question, the first response we get on the morning of their first cup of Bulletproof Joe is "It was so good!".  Asprey wasn't kidding when he said it tastes like the best latte you've ever had.  Put some cinnamon on top, and you're set for life. I think the fact that it tastes so great is one of the biggest reasons why sticking to Bulletproof Coffee is easy. You almost look for it. It's not an acquired taste. Even non-coffee drinkers take to it almost upon the first sip. 

Does it really have to be done that way? 
No matter how many times we post the cheatsheet graphic or the recipe, people will always feel compelled to ask questions about how it's made:

"Does it really need to be blended?" 
"Does it HAVE to be grass-fed butter?" 
"Why can't I use coconut oil?" or 
"Can't I put natural sugars in there?" 

We may have had the same questions starting out, but after reading the book, you understand that Asprey is a man who asked all those questions and even those we don't have the capacity to conjure. He is a Silicon Valley executive, who calls himself a bio-hacker. It was his questions that led to this very exact cup of awesomeness, which if done correctly yields a ton of great results. So without further ado, here are the things you should not do with your Bulletproof Coffee:


BULLETPROOF COFFEE MISTAKE NO.1 : NOT USING A BLENDER OR NOT BLENDING LONG ENOUGH.
All of us who've tried to tweak a recipe for the sake of convenience (swapping an ingredient, skipping a step) understand that it's human nature to want to find an easier way to do things, but this is not something you should skip.  

Asprey says drinking a cup of coffee, then taking a bite from a bar of butter as if it were a Snicker bar WILL NOT YIELD the same results. Filipinos like to say "Naghahalo din naman yan sa tiyan ko" which means it all ends up in your stomach anyway, but it doesn't quite follow that logic. 

Blending the coffee with the butter and the MCT oil breaks down the fat so that it is almost entirely imperceptible and it makes it readily assimilated by the body. More on blending the coffee in this post. Make sure you blend it for no less than 30 seconds. It should look like this glorious cup on the left. 

Would you rather have this beauty on the left? Or the monstrosity on the right? Is it a hassle to blend it? Yes. But the fact that the coffee switches my brain on like never before, that I'm able to do so much in a day (including the staples: running a household, raising a toddler, and now writing about my energy source haha) and that I'm no longer controlled by cravings is so much more than what I need to do to get these things. Worth it? More than you know. 

BULLETPROOF COFFEE MISTAKE NO.2 : USING COCONUT OIL
Can you use coconut oil? Yes. Should you? Well, you decide. MCT is around 18x more powerful than even your highest grade virgin coconut oil. It should be no less than 100% MCT to yield the right results. MCT kickstarts ketosis, which is the fat burning property of Bulletproof Coffee, and improves your cognitive function. Brain fog: gone. 

Also, coconut oil can go back to your fat stores while MCT is a quick source of energy, quickly assimilated by the body when blended in the coffee. MCT is also virtually tasteless and is much less greasy than virgin coconut oil. It is much more expensive than coconut oil, and there's a reason it is.  Asprey recommends skipping the coconut oil if you ever do run out of MCT and just going with the grass-fed butter and coffee combination.

BULLETPROOF COFFEE MISTAKE NO.3 : USING THE WRONG BUTTER

Grass-fed butter has an entirely different fat composition compared to regular butter. Regular cows are fed grains which is unnatural and requires farmers to administer antibiotics and all that gnarly stuff to keep the cow sickness-free. Grass-fed is always best. You can buy local, raw butter (which Asprey says is the best kind of butter) from The Dairy Farm Manila. Make sure you get UNSALTED. Salt in coffee is sad. Raw is always best, but your second option is Anchor Unsalted New Zealand Butter which you can pick up from the grocery as an alternative. 

I'm not going to talk about margarine. I won't even go there. Please don't make me go there. Come on. Haha. 

BULLETPROOF COFFEE MISTAKE NO.4 : PUTTING SUGAR IN YOUR COFFEE. 
Bulletproof coffee was designed to make your body use fat as fuel through ketosis. Putting sugar in your coffee (in any form) will force-stop the process. It's not worth the attachment to your favorite sweetener, no matter how healthy.

What this means, which I think I should spell out is that you cannot use:
Muscovado
Coco Sugar
Honey (Raw or otherwise)
White sugar
Brown sugar
Aspartame
Splenda
Nutra-sweet

You should only use STEVIA to sweeten (you can try erythritol or xylitol but some experience loose bowels.), and pure stevia with no additives. These two local brands have MALTODEXTRIN, a ninja sugar masquerading under a fancy name. This will stop your ketosis. Not fun. 

Sweet & Fit and Green Stevia have Maltodextrin

Most of those who have tried it without any stevia say it's great as it is. As for me, I like it with cinnamon and stevia.  This is the brand we get from Healthy Options

Now that you know how NOT to do it, it's probably going to be easier to do it the right way. Cheers!