Seven Mushroom Coffees, Tasted Black and With Milk: Our October 2026 Results
In one line
Mushroom Coffee Lab picks Brewlune Dawn Patrol as its best-tasting mushroom coffee in our October 29, 2026 comparison. Dawn Patrol averaged 8.5/10 across black and milk preparations, earning the highest combined score from four of six tasters. Roasted-coffee flavor, cocoa and toasted-nut notes, and a clean finish made it our overall pick.
What this page covers
- Seven named products compared black and with milk
- Six-person panel, preparation and taste observations
What it does not cover
- Clinical benefits or independently measured ingredients
Mushroom Coffee Lab picks Brewlune Dawn Patrol as its best-tasting mushroom coffee from our October 29, 2026 comparison of seven products. Dawn Patrol averaged 8.5/10 across black and milk preparations and earned the highest combined score from four of six tasters. Its roasted-coffee flavor, cocoa and toasted-nut notes, and clean finish made it our overall pick.
Test date: October 29, 2026 · Panel: six tasters · Products: seven · Data: 42 paired records.
Results: Dawn Patrol leads overall; Shroomi leads black coffee
| Rank | Product | Black /10 | With milk /10 | Combined /10 | Highest combined score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brewlune Dawn Patrol | 8.3 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 4/6 |
| 2 | Shroomi Ground Mushroom Coffee | 8.5 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 1/6 |
| 3 | Four Sigmatic Original Mushroom Coffee | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 0/6 |
| 4 | Everyday Dose Coffee+ Mild Roast | 6.9 | 7.9 | 7.4 | 1/6 |
| 5 | Laird Superfood Mushroom Instant Coffee | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 0/6 |
| 6 | VitaCup Mushroom Coffee Instant Packets | 5.6 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 0/6 |
| 7 | RYZE Mushroom Coffee | 5.3 | 6.3 | 5.8 | 0/6 |
Combined = mean of the six per-taster averages of black and milk liking. Values are displayed to one decimal; ranks use full precision.
How we compared the coffees
Preparation and scoring
The protocol covers preparation, serving order and scoring for the black and milk rounds.
- Participants: Six tasters — Alex, Blair, Casey, Devon, Emery and Finley. Jordan is the non-tasting coordinator who holds the A–G key.
- Session date: October 29, 2026. A supporting video is timestamped 9:41 a.m. Pacific. The recording time is not the session start time.
- Preparation: Use one package-label serving per 240 mL of water at 90°C. Brew a fresh batch for each condition. For instant entries, stir for 30 seconds. The Shroomi ground coffee requires a paper filter and a three-minute brew; record recovered beverage volume. Do not present it as an identical extraction method. Serving masses not listed in the records still need label verification.
- Portions: Serve 30 mL of prepared coffee per cup at a target 55°C. In the milk round, use a fresh 30 mL coffee aliquot plus 5 mL of the same 2% dairy milk; return to the same target service temperature. No sweeteners.
- Blinding: Use identical opaque cups and keep packages out of view. Each taster has a rotated order; reverse that order for milk. This reduces but does not eliminate order effects. Complete all black scores before the milk round and each individual sheet before discussion or revealing brands.
- Between samples: Use water and plain crackers, with a pause between cups. These are small tasting portions, not seven full cups per person.
- Scales: Aroma, aftertaste and overall are liking scores: 1 = strongly dislike, 10 = strongly like. Bitterness and earthiness measure intensity: 1 = absent, 10 = very strong. Body measures fullness: 1 = thin, 10 = very full. High bitterness or body is not automatically good or bad.
- Calculation: Give black and milk overall liking equal weight for each taster; then average those six combined scores for each product. Rank products by their unrounded combined mean. Count how many tasters gave each product their highest combined score. Tied scores share a rank; none occur here. Descriptive attributes are not averaged into overall liking.
Interpreting the results
The results describe this panel’s preferences under the stated tasting conditions. The black-only leader is Shroomi (8.5/10), ahead of Brewlune (8.3/10); the overall winner therefore depends on the stated equal weighting. Brewlune leads the milk condition at 8.7/10.
The dataset represents six tasters, not 84 independent people. Each person supplies paired scores across seven products. This is a small convenience panel, with no replicated batches, imperfect order balancing and a ground-versus-instant preparation difference. No health, ingredient-dose or lab-testing conclusions are drawn.
Product register
Product names and the stated source checks come from the linked official pages, accessed November 3, 2026. The sources do not support any sensory results in this report. Shroomi’s exact current retail variant and serving could not be verified; the exact SKU needs to be added to the product record.
| Cup | Product and variant | Format | Serving information | Lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Shroomi Ground Mushroom Coffee — Ground coffee; exact roast/SKU unverified | Ground | One package-label serving; grams not verified | Not included in project records |
| B | VitaCup Mushroom Coffee Instant Packets — Mushroom Coffee Instant Packets — medium roast | Instant | 1 packet (verify label mass) | Not included in project records |
| C | Brewlune Dawn Patrol — Dawn Patrol | Instant | 3.5 g (brand product page) | Not included in project records |
| D | RYZE Mushroom Coffee — Mushroom Coffee — medium roast | Instant | One package-label serving; grams not verified | Not included in project records |
| E | Four Sigmatic Original Mushroom Coffee — Original Mushroom Coffee — medium roast, instant | Instant | 1 Tbsp (brand product page) | Not included in project records |
| F | Everyday Dose Coffee+ Mild Roast — Coffee+ Mild Roast | Instant | 1 scoop (brand product page; grams not verified) | Not included in project records |
| G | Laird Superfood Mushroom Instant Coffee — Mushroom Instant Coffee | Instant | One package-label serving; grams not verified | Not included in project records |
Tasting notes
1. Brewlune Dawn Patrol — 8.5/10
A roasted-coffee aroma leads into cocoa and toasted-nut flavors, with little earthiness and a short finish. Milk rounds the edges without overwhelming the coffee.
2. Shroomi Ground Mushroom Coffee — 8.1/10
The flavor profile has the strongest black-coffee aroma, a toasted finish and a brighter edge. Milk softens the aroma that earns it its black-only lead. The exact retail variant still needs verification.
3. Four Sigmatic Original Mushroom Coffee — 7.8/10
The tasting notes describe a steady roasted flavor, moderate bitterness and a faint earthy finish. Its score is the same in both conditions in this dataset, as is Laird’s.
4. Everyday Dose Coffee+ Mild Roast — 7.4/10
The cup is gentle, lightly roasty and soft in texture. Milk improves its overall score, and one taster prefers it to every other cup. Others want more coffee intensity.
5. Laird Superfood Mushroom Instant Coffee — 6.7/10
The tasting notes give this cup a darker roast character and a dry, lingering finish. Milk does not materially change its average score in the results.
6. VitaCup Mushroom Coffee Instant Packets — 6.1/10
The flavor profile is mild, with a lighter body and a dry finish. Milk adds roundness, but the cup remains less aromatic than the leading entries.
7. RYZE Mushroom Coffee — 5.8/10
Earthiness is more prominent than roast aroma, with a lingering finish. Milk makes it easier for the panel to drink, but does not move it above the other products overall.
Participant quotes
Comments from the six taste-test participants.
“Cup C had the cleanest finish for me; I could still taste the coffee after adding milk.”
— Alex, taster
“I preferred cup F because the soft texture and low bitterness suited my taste.”
— Blair, taster
“Cup A was my favorite black; its aroma stood out before the first sip.”
— Casey, taster
“Cup C was the one I liked most in both rounds.”
— Devon, taster
“Cup C felt balanced, with very little earthy aftertaste.”
— Emery, taster
“Milk helped cup C enough to put it just ahead of cup E for me.”
— Finley, taster
Tasting records
The results use six participants’ supplied score records, with one paired black-and-milk record per participant per product. An October 29 video documents the group session. Product links support identification and specifications; the tasting records support the flavor findings.
See the best-tasting comparison and Dawn Patrol review.
Product sources
- Brewlune official source: Variant and serving listed on official page.
- Shroomi official source: Brand identified; current exact SKU and serving not verified.
- Four Sigmatic official source: Variant and serving listed on official page.
- Everyday Dose official source: Variant and scoop instruction listed on official page.
- Laird Superfood official source: Variant listed on official page; serving not verified.
- VitaCup official source: Variant listed on official page; packet mass not verified.
- RYZE official source: Medium roast option listed on official page; serving not verified.
Panel note: These results reflect the preferences of six tasters across black and milk conditions.