Introduction: 3 Bulletproof™Coffee Recipes With Cost Comparison

By Martin Reed
About: Seafood is my specialty but my love of food justice, self-reliance and productivity knows no bounds. I grow food under my bed.

Coffee. Butter. Oil. Not exactly the first thing that comes to mind for a balanced and nutritious breakfast. Yet, like a fat hydra that refuses to die, this calorie-laden coffee continues to regularly grab headlines. Bulletproof™Coffee was recently introduced by a Silicon Valley veteran after being inspired by a cup of yak butter tea in Tibet (who hasn't been inspired to something by a cup of that stuff?!) In true Valley style, he sells his own proprietary ingredients that supposedly increase the health benefits. These claims have largely been debunked. Truth be told, you can create this at home and reap all the benefits of these healthy fats for a fraction of the cost. I've been drinking it for the past eight months and love this frothy, pep-inducing breakfast substitute.

Why would anyone drink such a thing? There are several benefits to drinking this fatty coffee - it supplies loads of healthy medium- and long-chain fatty acids, suppresses hunger, promotes weight loss and provides mental clarity. It provides calories that sustain the energy provided by the coffee's caffeine. I've been drinking it regularly for the past eight months and love it. (Full disclosure: it's fueling me as I write this instructable.)

Okay, let's get started. Included are recipes with costs for the branded version, as well as a high- and lower-end Bulletproof™coffee.

Step 1: Brew. Combine. Blend.

It's simple to make - add some grass-fed butter and coconut oil to coffee and blend it up. I also add in a little salt, honey, cinnamon, vanilla extract and cayenne. Chef tip: A balanced dish often has elements of salty, sweet, savory and heat, so I add a variation of these spices to almost every dish. The goal is for each to be hardly noticeable, working behind the scenes to accentuate the flavor of a dish.

Step 2: Choose Your Ingredients

Here are the costs associated with the ingredients used in the different versions of each Bulletproof™ coffee:

Bulletproof™ Coffee Beans: $18.95 for 12oz.

Bulletproof™ Brain Octane™ Oil: $23.50 for 16oz.

Kerrygold™ Grass-fed Butter: $6.99 for three 8oz. sticks (Costco as of 3/15)

Kirkland Signature™ Coconut Oil: $25.99 for a 2-pack of 23.3oz. jars (Costco as of 3/15)

Kicking Horse Kick Dark Ass™ (higher-end) Coffee Beans: $26.96 for 2.2lbs (I know it's not Four Barrel, Blue Bottle, Ritual, Intelligentsia, etc... but it's easily available. So relax, Mission Hipsters!)

San Francisco Bay™ (lower-end) French Roast: $14.99 for 3lbs. (Costco as of 3/15)

Assumptions: 6oz coffee = 2T of beans = 1oz. of beans. Each recipe includes 1oz. of butter and 1oz. of oil. Coffee may be brewed using any method. Spices are optional and not included in total cost.

Step 3: Know the Price of Your Cup of Coffee

Bulletproof™ Coffee: $3.35

  1. Beans: $1.58
  2. Oil: $1.47
  3. Butter: $0.29

Bulletproof™ Coffee with High-end Beans: $1.08

  1. Beans: $0.77
  2. Oil: $0.31
  3. Butter: $0.29

Bulletproof™ Coffee with Low-end Beans: $0.91

  1. Beans: $0.31
  2. Oil: $0.31
  3. Butter: $0.29

There you have it. For under a dollar a day, you can have a delicious breakfast that packs plenty of calories from healthy fats and enough caffeine to keep you busy until noon (or until it's socially acceptable to drink wine.)