Four Sigmatic vs Shroomi: Category Founder vs the Award-Winning Ground Coffee

By , MD, FACOG·

In one line

Four Sigmatic vs Shroomi: Shroomi is the better choice for people who brew, because it delivers slightly more lion's mane per cup at $1.54 versus $1.90 and backs its fruiting-body claim with a certificate of analysis you can actually read. Four Sigmatic wins if you need an instant or a pod instead of ground coffee.

What this page covers

  • Four Sigmatic Think instant packets versus Shroomi's 10 oz regular-roast ground bags
  • Per-cup lion's mane, price, caffeine, testing evidence and format

What it does not cover

  • Four Sigmatic's own ground bag, which narrows the price gap
  • Shroomi's Half Decaf Peru SKU in detail

Side by side

Four SigmaticShroomi
Overall score3.8 / 53.8 / 5
Price$18.99 / 10$36.99 / 24
Per serving$1.90$1.54
Caffeine50 mg80 mg
Mushroomslions mane, chagalions mane, reishi, chaga
Doses disclosed per speciesYesNo
Beta-glucans disclosedNoNo
Third-party testedYesYes
Formatsinstant, ground, podsground
Taste & drinkability4.04.0
Ingredient quality4.54.5
Label transparency4.54.0
Price per serving3.03.0
Third-party lab testing4.04.5
Mushroom dosage3.02.5

Choose Four Sigmatic if…

  • You want instant packets or pods — Shroomi is ground only
  • You want the dose printed per serving, not as a percentage of the bag
  • You want low caffeine: about 50 mg versus 80 mg

Choose Shroomi if…

  • You brew drip, pour-over or French press and want specialty single-origin coffee
  • You want a published certificate of analysis, not just a testing claim
  • You want the cheaper cup — $1.54 versus $1.90

The short version

Four Sigmatic invented the category in 2012 and still has one of its clearest labels. Shroomi is the newer specialty-coffee entrant that won Bon Appétit's and WIRED's 2025 picks. Both use fruiting-body mushrooms and both land at a few hundred milligrams of lion's mane per cup. The real split is instant versus ground, and a testing claim versus a testing document.

Where each wins

Taste: both score 4. Four Sigmatic Think tastes like a good medium-roast instant; Shroomi is 95 percent single-origin coffee by weight and brews like specialty coffee. Price: Shroomi at $1.54 per cup against $1.90 for Four Sigmatic's instant packets. Caffeine: Shroomi's 80 mg is closer to a normal cup; Four Sigmatic's 50 mg is the gentler option. Disclosure: Four Sigmatic prints 250 mg lion's mane and 250 mg chaga per serving, which is easier to read. Shroomi gives species as percentages of a 16,000 mg bag, so you do the arithmetic, arriving at roughly 670 mg of total mushroom and about 290 mg of lion's mane per cup. Testing: Shroomi, because it publishes a certificate of analysis covering heavy metals and microbiology, where Four Sigmatic offers a claim. Formats: Four Sigmatic, with instant, ground and pods; Shroomi is ground only. Diet fit: both USDA Organic; Shroomi adds Fair Trade and a half-caf SKU.

Our pick

Shroomi, for anyone with a coffee maker. It costs less per cup, edges ahead on lion's mane, and is the rare brand whose testing you can actually inspect. Four Sigmatic remains the pick when you need a packet you can stir at your desk. Both are in our best mushroom coffee ranking.

Four Sigmatic

Four Sigmatic mushroom coffee (Think) is the most transparent mushroom coffee on the market: 250 mg lion's mane and 250 mg chaga fruiting-body extract, disclosed per cup, with 50 mg caffeine and third-party testing. The trade-off is price, at a premium $1.90 per serving for the instant packets, and only two mushrooms, with no cordyceps in the Think line.

$18.99 · $1.90/serving · 50 mg caffeine

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Our pick

Shroomi

Shroomi mushroom coffee is the ground-coffee pick for people who want a real single-origin cup first and mushrooms second: fruiting-body lion's mane, reishi and chaga with a published COA and 80 mg caffeine. The 16,000 mg per bag works out to only about 670 mg of mushroom per cup, at $1.54 a serving one-time.

$36.99 · $1.54/serving · 80 mg caffeine

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Both brands in one table

BrandScore$/servingCaffeineMushroomsPart usedFormat
Four Sigmatic3.8$1.9050 mglions mane, chagafruiting bodyinstant, ground, pods
Shroomi3.8$1.5480 mglions mane, reishi, chagafruiting bodyground

Frequently asked questions

Is Shroomi better than Four Sigmatic?

If you brew coffee, yes. Shroomi is organic, Fair Trade, single-origin ground coffee with 100 percent fruiting-body mushrooms and a published certificate of analysis, at $1.54 per cup. Four Sigmatic's instant packets cost $1.90 and offer a testing claim rather than a readable COA, but they win on convenience.

Which has more caffeine, Four Sigmatic or Shroomi?

Shroomi. It states about 80 mg of caffeine per 8 oz cup of its regular roasts, a little under a standard brewed coffee. Four Sigmatic Think instant packets are about 50 mg, roughly half a cup. Shroomi also sells a Half Decaf Peru blend for people cutting back.

Which is cheaper, Four Sigmatic or Shroomi?

Shroomi, per cup. A 10 oz bag is $36.99 for 24 servings, or $1.54 each at the one-time price. Four Sigmatic's Think instant packets are $18.99 for 10, or $1.90 each. Four Sigmatic also sells a ground bag that is closer in price, but the instant is what most people buy.

Which has more lion's mane, Four Sigmatic or Shroomi?

Roughly similar, with Shroomi slightly ahead. Four Sigmatic prints 250 mg of lion's mane per packet. Shroomi lists 16,000 mg of mushroom per bag with lion's mane at 43.2 percent, which works out to about 290 mg per cup across 24 servings. Both are far below the 1,000 to 3,000 mg used in trials.

Sources

  1. Four Sigmatic Think Organic Coffee product pageFour Sigmatic price, pack size, 50 mg caffeine, 250 mg lion's mane and chaga, fruiting-body and testing claims
  2. Shroomi Medium Roast Nicaragua product pageShroomi price, 24 servings, 80 mg caffeine, 16,000 mg per bag, species percentages, fruiting-body and COA claims