姜黄拿铁也过时了?现在流行喝蘑菇咖啡
In Europe, we've been drinking coffee in various guises since at least the 15th century; the first coffee shop in Britain popped up in 1650 in Oxford. For centuries, we were content with the simple coffee beans, hot water, sugar and milk combination, but the past few years have seen a proliferation of novelty brews. Chai latte was a huge hit until news of its astronomical sugar content emerged; turmeric latte was named the 'breakout star' in Google's Food Trends report of 2016; and we reached peak avocado with the hideous 'avolatte'. But in the past 12 months a new trend has been brewing, one that proves millennials' insatiable appetite for faddish food and drinks knows no bounds. The latest concoction to delight and rile in equal measure is mushroom coffee. On supermarket shelves and in cafes, we're increasingly being exposed to the drink, which is purportedly an anti-inflammatory, and is supposed to regulate blood sugar levels and boost metabolism. According to data collected by Hitwise, there has been a 471pc year-on-year spike in searches for "mushroom coffee", with the bulk from those aged 25 to 34. A typical example doesn't feature commonly eaten mushrooms such as portobellos or chanterelles, but fungi like the chaga mushroom, a parasitic fungus from birch trees; reishi, used medicinally in traditional Chinese medicine; and cordyceps. All three have long been used in skincare, and now they're being made into coffee. Mushroom coffee tends to be a blend of regular ground coffee mixed with a powdered fungus, which provides an earthy taste to the drink. To make it more palatable, it's often sold with milk or a milk variant and a sweetener. Studies on the health benefits of the fungi used in mushroom coffee are promising. Chaga is thought to be rich in several vitamins, minerals and nutrients, including Vitamin D, potassium and B-complex vitamins. According to studies at the University of Malaya in Malaysia, anti-inflammatory compounds in mushrooms could help combat dementia. But to nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed, there is insufficient evidence that a cup of steaming hot mushroom coffee will give you anything beyond the regular benefits of coffee. "It's unlikely mushroom coffee will live up to all, if any, of the claims being made about it. If you enjoy it, enjoy a cup, but it's not a miracle food. There's very little research that it will have those effects, especially in a standard amount that an average person would consume." |