I recently described how I adopted Bulletproof coffee as a natural extension of my love for butter and fat in general as a key ingredient for carrying flavor and, as I learned, so much more. Here is the recipe that changed my life. It's not just the butter.

The blend of coffee and butter is nothing new. Similar beverages have delighted palates from Nepal to northern India for centuries. In Ethiopia, you find coffee with butter, honey, and salt. Apparently, as far back as 575, nomadic tribes in Ethiopia crushed coffee beans with fat. The list goes on: coffee with butters, salt and sugar in Vietnam, with butter and spices in Singapore.

In modern parlance, butter provides a healthy fat and slows the absorption of caffeine to provide prolonged energy.

Be forewarned, however. If you add a croissant (or any other carb), you totally cancel out the beneficial effects. Even worse, the carbs become more harmful (see below).

The Recipe

This is based on Dave Asprey’s original recipe. Adjust the quantities according to your coffee consumption habits.

230 ml coffee made from freshly ground beans

1 to 2 tablespoons unsweetened butter *

1 to 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or a MCT* (medium chain triglyceride) oil

Mix all the ingredients in a blender for 20 to 30 seconds.

* Start with small amounts of fat and gradually increase to a level that feels good for your body.. And adjust whenever it feels right. After a couple of years, I greatly reduced the fat levels.

The Devil’s Details

Choose a good quality organic coffee, preferably grown at altitude (less mold).
Avoid paper filters that absorb beneficial oils found in coffee. I use an "Aeropress" with a metal filter.
Salted butter in coffee is gross.
A good organic grass-fed butter will have more nutritional value than another.
Some people, especially women, feel better when they add some protein (this is related to the impact on hormones). You can add a spoonful of collagen powder (tasteless) or, sometimes, if I plan to do a lot of sports in the morning, a raw egg yolk.
If you really can not stand unsweetened coffee, use xylitol, erythritol, or stevia instead.

Variations

When I’m not drinking caffeine, I use decaffeinated coffee (water- or C02-processed.

When I do not drink coffee, I do the same thing with raw, pure raw cacao powder, adding water and fat. You can sweeten with xylitol. I take it straight, adding a bit of freshly pressed or grated ginger juice (to help with digestion).

Sometimes I add a little cinnamon or vanilla powder.

I love the cacao, but on days when I need to be really sharp, I do coffee. There is no beating it for the brain boost.

You can always substitute green tea or yerba mate, or just hot water and vanilla. Although delicious in their own way, none do the same job as java.

Get the low-down on why you should be doing this to your coffee