Buying guide for best maca coffee
Among the popular health drinks making the rounds on alternative and natural social media sites are maca coffee and maca coffee alternatives. You may have seen the recipes for maca lattes, macaccinos, maca mocha, and super coffee. These posts and videos come with big health claims, everything from caffeine-free all-day energy to mood stabilization to even—and especially—boosting sex drive, especially for men.
Like all things related to health and wellness, it would be wise to take these claims with a grain of salt. While maca is a real root grown and eaten by people for centuries, with both nutritional and medicinal uses, its effects as a nutritional supplement and health food need more scientific study. That said, there have been studies done on this ancient vegetable, and some of them are promising.
If you think you’d like to try a maca coffee alternative, a good shopping guide and some hand-picked recommendations can get your shopping started.
How to buy the best maca coffee
What is maca?
Maca is a root vegetable that grows in the Andes in South America, the starchy hypocotyl and taproot of a plant related to broccoli and kale. Grown and harvested at high altitudes, it’s a staple food of indigenous communities in Peru. As a food, whole maca root is eaten boiled, roasted, or dried. Maca has also been used in traditional medicinal practices.
What is maca coffee?
Maca coffee is typically a mixture or combination of coffee with maca powder, while maca coffee alternatives don’t include any coffee at all. Maca coffee is usually made with the powdered form of the vegetable. Compared to eating maca root, drinking maca coffee involves much smaller amounts of the powder in an easy to drink form.
Forms of maca coffee
If you want to try maca coffee or a maca coffee alternative, you have several options.
Instant drink mix: You can find several brands of instant coffee drink mixes featuring maca. These mixes resemble instant coffee and usually but not always have instant coffee as an ingredient. You prepare them by mixing the powder into hot water. Many brands of instant maca coffee alternatives promise energy and libido enhancement and may also include other supplements like mushrooms, ginseng, turmeric, and cacao.
Ground coffee with maca: If you want a bit more control over the preparation and ingredients of your drink, you can find ground coffee with added maca. These blends are designed to be brewed like regular coffee, but they also include ground maca and perhaps other supplements like cacao. Like instant mixes, there are also coffee-free blends available for those who want to avoid caffeine.
Ready to drink: You can find pre-made coffee that includes maca and other supplements in some health food stores and retailers. These usually come in cans and resemble ready-to-drink coffee beverages. Like coffee drinks, they can be consumed chilled.
Make it yourself: The simplest way to make maca coffee is by adding a small amount of maca powder to a cup of coffee or other hot drink. Maca powder is easy to find in health food stores. And there are numerous recipes for maca drinks that use maca powder, including vegan maca lattes and mochas.
DID YOU KNOW?
Maca’s scientific name is Lepidium meyenii, although it was recently suggested that cultivated varieties be called Lepidium peruvianum. It’s also known as “Peruvian ginseng” by some health food retailers.
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Alleged benefits of maca coffee
Increased sex drive: The most talked-about benefit to maca coffee is its supposed effect as an aphrodisiac, that it increases libido in both men and women and acts like “natural Viagra” (sildenafil) in men. According to Examine.com, a number of studies seem to support the idea that maca increases libido and sexual function, with a paper on the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed citing an increase in semen quality. A further systematic review of multiple maca studies in PubMed found “limited evidence for the effectiveness of maca in improving sexual dysfunction.” However, in 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a public caution that a specific brand of maca supplement was adulterated with sildenafil, which can be dangerous when not properly prescribed.
Sustained energy: Another frequently cited benefit of maca coffee alternatives is increased and sustained energy and focus. According to some users, adding maca to coffee or drinking a maca coffee alternative gives them a sustained sense of energy compared to the jitters and crashes of caffeine. Keep in mind that many types of maca coffee do in fact include coffee. Coffee-free maca drinks, on the other hand, have the benefit of including little or no caffeine.
Menopausal relief: Maca may help alleviate the symptoms of menopause, including anxiety, depression, hot flashes, and sleep problems. However, MedlinePlus.gov notes maca’s estrogen-related effects might not be helpful for those with hormone-sensitive conditions like breast or uterine cancer.
Maca comes in several varieties differentiated by color, including yellow, red, and black. Yellow maca is the most common, while red and black maca are rarer.
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Accessories for maca coffee
French press
A French press is an excellent way to make coffee from premixed maca coffee grounds. The action of the French press allows for maximum extraction without overheating or overmixing the brew. Unlike a paper filter, a French press also allows some of the maca powder to pass through.
Milk frother
Maca powder can be difficult to integrate into liquids. To make the job easier, you can use an electric whisk or milk frother. Not only does this device help mix the powder into the coffee or water, but it also works great for making foamy maca lattes, coffee-free maca drinks, and macaccinos.
DID YOU KNOW?
Raw maca powder is hard to digest. Gelatinized maca powder has been treated with heat to remove and break down the tough starches and fibers, making it easier to mix and digest. Gelatinization doesn’t involve gelatin, so the maca is still vegan.
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How much does maca coffee cost?
Inexpensive
You can find maca powder that costs less than $10 per package in many shops and online. However, these packages might not be a great value, offering 4 or 6 ounces of maca powder at around $2 or more per ounce.
Mid-range
You can find maca powder, ground maca coffee blends, and some instant maca coffee alternatives that cost between $10 and $15 per package. These offer better value, with some 16-ounce bags working out to less than $1 per ounce or instant maca coffee that costs less than $0.60 per serving.
Expensive
You can find maca powder that costs over $20 per package (over $1.50 per ounce), often boasting powder made from the rarer black and red maca varieties. You can also find “super coffee” instant maca coffee alternatives crammed with various buzzy ingredients, from adaptogenic mushrooms to herbs promising male virility and sexual enhancement, sold online for around $25 per package. Be aware that these might be gray-market items whose purity, safety, and efficacy can’t be verified.
Tips
- Refrigerate your maca powder. Maca powder will last longer and stay fresher if you keep it in a closed container in the refrigerator.
- Start with a small amount of maca powder. Maca can be hard to digest. Start with a small amount, half a teaspoon or less, in your coffee so you can get used to it.
- Look for organic and fair trade maca. Maca is a food that’s native to Peru. Try to choose certified maca brands that support the local people who grow and harvest the root.
FAQ
Q. Can maca build muscle?
A. Not by itself. A 2009 study published in PubMed indicates maca may enhance endurance and fight fatigue in athletes. Paired with good nutrition and exercise, this can contribute to increased muscle mass, but this is due to the effects of the exercise, not the maca itself.
Q. Is it okay to drink maca every day?
A. As a food, maca is eaten in significant quantities every day without adverse effects. As a medicine, it seems to be safe in amounts of 1.5-3.5 grams by mouth daily for up to 4 months, according to MedLinePlus. A teaspoon is the typical amount suggested when making maca coffee.
Q. Is maca good for testosterone?
A. A university study in Peru published on PubMed found that maca had no effect on serum testosterone levels in male subjects, but maca did seem to have some effect on sexual desire.
