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Kristine Thomason is the health and fitness director at mindbodygreen.
Some consider coffee an art; others, a science. From where I stand—specifically, at the kitchen counter while my barista-turned-scientist partner meticulously prepares our pour-over coffee every morning—it’s a little bit of both.
If I had to rank the things we take most seriously in our household, trailing somewhere behind nutrition, movement, and mental health, you’d find coffee in a top slot.
I used to be an any-coffee-is-great-coffee kind of gal, but that mindset was completely ruined once I started learning to appreciate the flavor and overall experience of a high-quality bean.
I’ll be the first to admit I’ve been pretty spoiled by the daily Chemex brews my partner Ryan makes for us, always featuring a beautiful, freshly ground bean from a roaster we admire.
And of course, as mbg’s health director, well-being is always top of mind. So while I think the ritual of slowly brewing coffee is a beautiful, mindful practice with benefits of its own—I’m also always aware that the coffee we choose and how we drink it matters when it comes to well-being.
That’s why I was very intrigued when I heard David Asprey—entrepreneur and bestselling science author, often referred to as the “Father of Biohacking”—was launching his own unique offering in the coffee space, called Danger Coffee.
Here’s the deal with Asprey’s new product: Danger Coffee is a line of roasted coffee beans that have been “remineralized with 50 trace minerals and electrolytes,” according to the brand’s website. Why? The concept is to help you feel “energized, engaged, and powerful” by infusing a standard coffee with bonus perks.
What’s more, some experts in the well-being world share concerns over potential mycotoxins (mold toxins)1 in certain foods, including coffee2. Danger Coffee aims to alleviate those apprehensions by having a third-party lab test the product and ensure it’s mold-free.
As for the beans themselves, they’re farm-direct and were personally chosen by Asprey for their quality and flavor. The brand website notes that the coffee is “designed to pair perfectly with Dave’s original recipe for coffee blended with grass-fed butter and MCT oil.” (Also known as Bulletproof Coffee.)
Danger Coffee
Regardless of the potential benefits, no bag of coffee beans is going to fly in our house if it tastes subpar. So when I set out to review Danger Coffee, I made sure to include Ryan on my expert testing panel (which, yes, just consisted of the two of us).
I swapped a bag of whole beans into our coffee setup, and Ryan immediately started incorporating Danger Coffee into our morning routine. I didn’t give him too much of a primer, just that I wanted to try this new coffee—I was eager to get his honest opinion, after all.
His verdict? It has a bold, nutty flavor with some cocoa notes. He also detected a slightly mineral-y taste (possibly because of that mineralization process), which contributed to an earthy flavor. While I admittedly didn’t pick up on that sensorial spectrum, I did enjoy the deep, rich flavor and aroma of Danger Coffee. Overall: It passed the taste test.
Ryan also appreciated that the beans were single-origin—a gold standard in the coffee world.
As for the well-being review: After sipping Danger Coffee every morning for a week, I also tried to tune into my body and notice if I felt any different than usual. While I can’t make any definitive claims, I did feel a slightly less heightened coffee buzz than I normally experience. Instead, I felt a more mild, steady energy and mental alertness that seemed to persist throughout the day.
As someone who spends a lot (and I mean a lot) of time thinking about and researching well-being, I am such a fan of this new player in the functional coffee game. The fact that it actually tastes good—now, that’s truly a work of art.
Kristine Thomason is the health and fitness director at mindbodygreen. Kristine is a New York University graduate with a degree in journalism and psychology, and also a NASM-certified personal trainer. She has spent her editorial career focused on health and well-being, and formerly worked for Women’s Health and Health. Her byline has also appeared in Men’s Health, Greatist, Refinery29, HGTV, and more. In her current role she oversees, edits, and writes for the health, food, and movement sections of mindbodygreen.
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