Keto coffee is a high-fat, low-carb beverage designed for those following the ketogenic diet, which involves eating high-fat and low-carb. By cutting out carbs, your body enters a state of "ketosis," converting fat to ketones, which it uses as an energy source. The ingredients in keto coffee can vary, but two main rules apply - the beverage should contain a healthy fat source and no (or very few) carbohydrates. Keto coffee has emerged as a popular drink of choice for individuals following a ketogenic diet and the general population alike.
What is Keto Coffee?
Keto coffee is generally created by taking a cup of coffee and adding MCT oil or coconut oil to it along with grass-fed butter. You can also add heavy cream, keeping it keto as well. What separates keto coffee from your prototypical cup of coffee is obviously the addition of healthy fats and the subtraction of other high-carb creamers or sweeteners.
Keto coffee, also known as butter coffee to some, can be the perfect way to reach ketosis faster while also reaching dietary goals simultaneously.
It is a high-fat, low-carb drink that blends regular black coffee with a healthy dose of grass-fed butter and medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil. Its popularity stems from its ability to provide a steady burst of energy, improved cognitive function, and a feeling of fullness. All while supporting the body’s transition into a state of fat-burning ketosis. Not only does this make it an excellent breakfast substitute for those following the ketogenic diet.
Bulletproof Coffee
The first type of keto coffee was invented by a man named Dave Asprey who trademarked a beverage known as “Bulletproof Coffee” in 2009. It later became a part of the “Bulletproof diet” which mirrors the typical ketogenic diet in many ways.
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Bulletproof coffee combines freshly brewed black coffee with grass-fed butter and MCT oil. Bulletproof coffee, also known as butter coffee, is a high-calorie caffeinated drink made with added fat. It is intended to fuel start your day by replacing carb-heavy breakfasts. It was created by the originator of the Bulletproof diet, Dave Asprey, an American entrepreneur and author. The drink has become popular with low-carb and keto diet followers.
What separates a keto coffee from a Bulletproof coffee? They’re basically the same thing but if Bulletproof coffee means using the products sold by Dave Asprey’s company, Bulletproof. Regardless of your preference, the result is a beverage that may provide cognitive and health benefits to help jump start your day.
A Brief Look at the Ketogenic Diet
For those unacquainted with the keto diet, let’s take a bit of a refresher course.
The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carb, moderate-protein diet that switches the body’s natural energy source mechanisms from a glucose-reliant state to running on fat through ketone production. Your body can store carbohydrates (glucose) in the form of glycogen, which can be found in the liver and muscle. When carbohydrates are eliminated or drastically reduced in one’s diet, the body will use glycogen for energy but there is a very limited supply of this meaning the body is forced to rely upon alternative energy sources-such as fat, which our body stores in large amounts compared to carbs (think adipose tissue).
Interestingly, your brain cannot use fat for energy so your body must convert the stored fat into a substrate that your brain can use and this alternative energy source is called ketones or ketone bodies. Ketone bodies are made by your liver and can be shuttled to other tissues and converted to energy that your body can use.
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The ketogenic, or ‘keto’, lifestyle is a diet regimen that emphasises high-fat and low-carbohydrate consumption. When you follow this diet, your body converts dietary and stored fats into molecules called ketones. Of which serve as an alternative energy source. The incorporation of Keto Coffee into this lifestyle is a strategic move.
Ingredients for Keto Coffee
The ingredients in keto coffee can vary, but two main rules apply - the beverage should contain a healthy fat source and no (or very few) carbohydrates.
- High-Quality Coffee: Opt for a high-quality, whole-bean coffee to make keto coffee. The best coffee for making keto coffee should be high-quality, mold-free, and freshly ground. Whether you opt for arabica or robusta, a dark or light roast is down to you. Arabica coffee is naturally sweeter and has a mild caffeine content. The quality of the coffee you use to make keto coffee is important if you want to receive the potential health benefits of this drink. The best keto coffee is made from high-quality, whole-bean coffee that’s sourced from sustainable organic farms and is certified mold-free. Hot Coffee: Black coffee, please, since sugar wouldn’t make sense on any type of diet. The coffee shouldn’t contain milk either; for reasons we’ll discuss shortly, you’re not supposed to drink milk on keto.
- Grass-fed butter: Butter is the easy one. At a molecular level, the fats we consume are chains of fatty acids and carbon atoms. Almost all of them are long chains (so they’re called long-chain triglycerides) containing at least 13 carbon atoms. But a few foods (coconuts, palm kernels and some dairy products) contain fats with just 6-12 carbons, so their chains are shorter. Don’t worry about “special” types of ingredients. Regular coffee beans or ground coffee, and MCT oil that contains caprylic and capric acids, work just fine in any keto coffee recipe.
- MCT Oil: This oil is composed solely of fats called medium-chain triglycerides, and you can find it in natural food stores and on Amazon. It’s extracted from coconut oil or palm kernel oil, and it provides a number of health benefits. MCTs have a unique property. Since their chains are so much shorter than most of the fats we eat, they don’t have to be digested. Bingo! When you’re on keto you have to stay in ketosis, so your body can produce ketones. MCT oil helps keto dieters achieve and stay in ketosis. That’s why it’s added to keto coffee. We should also mention that MCT oil provides a wealth of other health benefits, whether you’re on keto or not. They are antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, and have antimicrobial properties as well. Even if MCT oil didn’t help keep keto dieters in ketosis, it would still make sense to add it to coffee. Asprey sells MCT oil (he calls it Brain Octane Fuel) and super-duper low-acid coffee beans, but you don’t need to get fancy.
Optional additions
- Zero-carb, zero-calorie natural sweeteners like stevia or monk fruit extract.
- Spices like cinnamon for extra flavor and metabolism-burning benefits.
- A scoop of grass-fed collagen peptides to give your body a clean source of protein along with skin-smoothing, hair-strengthening, and joint health-improving benefits!
How to Make Keto Coffee
Making keto coffee is relatively quick and easy.
- First, fill a kettle with fresh, filtered water and boil it.
- Next, you’ll need to measure and grind your whole-bean coffee to a coarse grind - similar in consistency to unrefined sea salt. Whole-bean coffee provides the highest antioxidant levels and the best flavor.
- Add the desired amount of ground coffee to the bottom of your French press. Then, pour in the required amount of hot water.
- Let the coffee brew for four to five minutes.
- Blend the ingredients for around 30 seconds to thoroughly combine them.
- Pour your keto coffee into a coffee cup or heat-proof glass.
Benefits of Keto Coffee
Advocates of the ketogenic diet claim that this coffee blend provides several benefits, supporting the low-carb, high-fat lifestyle and health in general. Keto coffee boosts energy, increases fat burning, improves productivity, and decreases cravings. The combination of caffeine, butter, and MCT oil in this drink may provide a fast-acting “boost” and prolonged energy throughout the day.
Promotes Weight Loss and Management
Keto coffee may support weight loss and management by promoting fat-burning and reducing food cravings. MCT oil, in particular, has been linked to increased fat-burning and metabolism, making it a useful ingredient for those who wish to lose weight. Caffeine can boost metabolic rate and provide energy for physical activity while suppressing hunger pangs.
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MCT oil helps to increase satiety. In other words, it makes you feel fuller for longer, because MCTs boost the release of hormones that promote a feeling of fullness. So MCT oil helps with weight loss. A study performed on individuals consuming a breakfast high in MCTs resulted in lower energy intake (220 calories) at lunch four hours later compared to a control group. A secondary study found similar results. Individuals practicing the keto diet will benefit from this as they will be less likely to overeat.
Provides a Sustainable Energy Boost
The caffeine in keto coffee provides an instant energy boost. This stimulant temporarily blocks adenosine - a neurotransmitter responsible for the “tired” feeling. The healthy fats from the butter and MCT oil (if used) also provide a sustainable energy source for people in ketosis.
Enhances Mental Clarity and Cognitive Function
When the body consumes carbohydrates and sugars, the brain relies on glucose as an energy source. MCT oil is rapidly converted to ketones in the liver, providing the brain with an instant energy source. At the same time, your body converts the more complex healthy fats in butter more slowly for a longer-term energy source. On top of this, the caffeine in coffee may also enhance mental clarity and cognitive function. This well-known stimulant may improve concentration, reaction times, and mood. Coffee alone can improve cognition, but when you add MCTs the result is even more powerful. It’s like peanut butter and jelly; while both are great alone, combining the two makes them exponentially better.
Benefits Digestion and Gut Health
Keto coffee may benefit digestion and gut health in a few different ways.
- Antimicrobial properties: MCT oil may help maintain a healthy gut biome and promote the growth of healthy gut bacteria. Certain beneficial gut bacteria thrive on a high-fat diet, such as keto.
- Mild laxative effect: Keto coffee may also help improve digestive issues such as constipation, a problem many people following the ketogenic diet experience. MCT oil and coffee have mild laxative effects, which can help encourage regular bowel movements. However, consuming too much MCT oil (or coffee) at once may lead to gastrointestinal discomfort and diarrhea.
- Stimulate bile production: The healthy fats in grass-fed butter help your body produce bile. This can aid in digestion and the absorption of fats during ketosis.
Integrating Keto Coffee into Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting can also be an effective tool to combine with the keto diet due to their overlapping goals and mechanisms. By fasting for a defined period of time (usually 16+ hours per day), the body can tap into stored fat reserves for energy, which can lead to ketone production.
In terms of drinking keto coffee while intermittent fasting, this depends on how strict you are and the eating window you give yourself. Normally, fasting means no consumption of calories (so, stick with black coffee or even tea). However, some people expand the definition slightly, allowing for additions like milk, cream or MCT Oil Powder to their morning keto coffee during their “fasting” window.
Alternatively, you can wait to drink your keto coffee during your eating window (so drink it later in the day) or change your eating window so that you are able to consume calories when you wake up; this however, would mean that you would essentially have to skip dinner every day, which can be difficult for some.
It’s up to you on how to practice intermittent fasting, but the addition of something like an MCT oil to your coffee can absolutely help curb cravings and may help you extend your fast.
Potential downsides of keto coffee
It’s loaded with saturated fat - and why would you eat lots of fat if your goal is weight loss? If you’re confused, you’re in good company. So let’s put keto coffee aside for a minute and look more closely at the keto diet.
One of the main downsides of drinking a bulletproof coffee instead of breakfast is that you're missing out on the opportunity to eat a nutrient-dense meal. Instead, you're consuming a drink that's high in fat, but lacks valuable nutrients.
The fats included in bulletproof coffee are predominantly high in saturates - for example, just 1 tbsp of unsalted butter supplies 12.3g fat, more than half of which is saturates. When combined with the recommended MCT oil, one cup of bulletproof coffee will supply more than your maximum daily reference intake for saturated fat (20g) and approximately 242-354kcal per cup (depending on the amount of butter added).
It’s well known that caffeine gives us a boost, and it does this by acting as a trigger on our adrenal glands, the organs which manage our stress response. High intakes of caffeine over an extended period of time may tire the adrenal glands, which will impact our endocrine system and subsequent hormonal balance. Also, some people find that consuming caffeine triggers a stress response, and may increase the body’s reaction to perceived stress during normal daily activities, such as in a work environment. Some animal studies have also suggested that the effect of caffeine on our adrenals may be particularly relevant at certain life stages, such as during puberty.
Keto coffee can do more harm than good if you’re dieting but not on keto (or another low-carb meal plan like paleo or intermittent fasting). Here’s the bottom line: keto coffee, in moderation, can help boost weight loss in those who are already on keto. Those who aren’t rigorously following a low-carb diet, however, may actually pack on more pounds by downing keto coffee.
Important Considerations
- Although you can drink keto coffee when not in ketosis, it's not recommended. Keto coffee contains a high amount of fat in the form of butter.
- The amount of calories in a cup of keto coffee depends on how much butter and MCT oil you use. The average 8 oz (240 mL) cup of keto coffee can contain anywhere from 200 to 500 calories.
- The amount of caffeine in a cup of keto coffee varies depending on the bean type, coffee-to-water ratio, and extraction time used to make the brew.
- Yes, you can make keto coffee without MCT oil. Simply adding butter to black coffee can provide energy in the form of healthy fats which can benefit ketosis.
- Yes. You can drink regular coffee while on keto as long as it's unsweetened and served black (or with little milk).
- Yes, you can add milk or cream to coffee while on a ketogenic diet. However, dairy does add some carbohydrates in the form of lactose.
- Although the ketogenic diet calls for no sugar or carbohydrates, it is possible to sweeten your coffee while remaining in ketosis. Opt for a low-carb sweetener such as monk fruit, stevia, or erythritol.