Ryze is a mushroom coffee brand that’s used for physical and mental health benefits. The company suggests their product can support energy, focus, gut health and immunity.

But does Ryze contain research-backed ingredients for supporting mental and physical health? Does the brand use any questionable additives? How do real users rate and describe the effects of Ryze? And which retailer sells Ryze coffee for the best price?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Ryze to give our take on whether or not the brand is likely to support optimal health.

We’ll feature unsponsored customer reviews, and provide a cost comparison to show which retailer sells Ryze for the best price.

We’ll also provide our thoughts on how Ryze compares to other adaptogenic coffee brands on the market, and which is the best.

Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in Ryze’s mushroom blend are shown above. All of the mushrooms used have research backing for supporting health.

Here are a few examples:

Reishi mushroom was shown in a 2017 clinical trial to support brain health and reduce neurodegeneration, but this was an animal study and not a human study.

Turkey tail mushroom may support immune function according to a clinical trial published in the BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies journal.

Overall, we’re not convinced of the functional benefits of mushroom blends for any specific outcome, but these are nutritious whole food ingredients that have been used medicinally for thousands of years. We find this to be a safe and healthy blend.

Where Ryze stands apart is that its other ingredients are entirely clean:

Organic coffee provides caffeine that’s likely to make this blend more nootropic than caffeine-free mushroom blends.

Organic coconut milk and organic MCT oil are the flavoring and texture additives, and are nutritious whole foods. There are no unhealthy ingredients in this formulation, so we recommend Ryze Mushroom Coffee from a formulation perspective.

We consider Ryze more likely to have a nootropic (cognitive-enhancing) effect than brands like MUD\WTR due to the caffeine from the coffee included.

We Tried Ryze Ourselves

As the author of this article, I wanted to try Ryze myself to share my thoughts on the taste and product effects.

I purchased a kit from the brand's website which came with a number of fun, free additions like creamer, overnight oat mix and wooden mixing spoons:

Based on this alone, I'd definitely recommend purchasing from the brand's website over third-party platforms.

Making Ryze was simple: you just add a scoop to a glass and then add boiling hot water:

The taste was mild and pleasant, but not overly flavorful.

I didn't experience nearly the same energy and concentration benefits as I do with coffee. I'd say probably a third or less of the subjective benefits, which tracks with this coffee alternative only providing 48 milligrams (mg) of caffeine.

This may be an excellent solution for individuals who are caffeine-sensitive, but I'm not, so I'd prefer regular coffee any day.

Overall, I'd rate Ryze 5/10, and I don't plan to purchase it again since I don't believe I'm the target customer for this type of product.

Does Ryze Cause Side Effects?

Ryze mushroom coffee doesn’t appear to have been studied in any clinical trials, which makes it challenging to determine potential side effects. However, we can make an educated guess based on the ingredients.

Edible mushrooms have been consumed by humans for thousands of years, and the fact that Ryze uses whole plant ingredients rather than more potent extracts reduces the risk of side effects.

Coffee can cause anxiety, heart palpitations and headaches according to a 2018 medical review, but we find this highly unlikely for Ryze coffee given that it only provides 48 mg of caffeine per serving, which is less than half of the dose in one standard coffee cup.

Overall, we do not consider Ryze likely to cause side effects in otherwise healthy adults.

There is no mention of side effects caused by the product on Ryze’s website, and the brand actually suggests that their product may be a good fit for those who experience side effects from regular coffee.

Influencers Rate Ryze

A YouTube creator named “HunterTheHill” has an entertaining video reviewing Ryze where he explains why he’s not a fan of the taste:

A YouTube creator named Lauren Vacula explains why she switched from regular coffee to Ryze mushroom coffee, and shares three Ryze coffee recipes:

Where to Get the Best Price

Ryze coffee is sold at a variety of online retailers. Here’s a price breakdown at the time of publishing this article:

Amazon: $93.99 (third-party seller, link)

Brand website: $30 (monthly subscription required, link)

Even though the brand’s website requires a subscription, they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, and it’s so much cheaper than at third-party retailers that this seems to be the best bet.

Our Clean Coffee Alternatives

Nandaka by Pique is our top coffee alternative pick.

This product contains slow-release caffeine from black tea, cacao butter which has documented health benefits, nootropic mushrooms and phytonutrient-rich spices like cinnamon and ginger.

Pique Breakfast Black Tea Sticks is our top whole food energy pick.

Black tea consumption is "associated with rapid increases in alertness and information processing capacity" according to a clinical trial, and Pique's tea is organic and comes in convenient stick packs that can be mixed into water, so a teapot or kettle are not needed.

Both of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of ingredients we consider to be unhealthy.

Functional Mushroom Benefits

A YouTube video from the “FreshCap Mushrooms” channel discusses some of the potential health benefits of functional mushrooms, including the types used in Ryze:

Pros and Cons of Ryze

Here are the pros and cons of Ryze mushroom coffee in our opinion:

Pros:

• All whole food ingredients
• Healthy formulation
• More nutritious than regular coffee
• Less likely to cause side effects than regular coffee
• Mushroom active ingredients may have functional benefits

Cons:

• Doesn’t appear clinically tested
• Some users complain about “mushroom” taste

Conclusion

Ryze is one of the better mushroom coffee brands we’ve reviewed on Illuminate Health, primarily because it actually contains some coffee (which is more likely to have a stimulating and nootropic effect than mushrooms).

The 48 mg of caffeine per serving is still enough to improve mental acuity, while being low enough to prevent everyone except the most sensitive individuals from experiencing caffeine side effects.

The mushroom ingredients in Ryze are nutritious and likely to support overall health, but we haven’t come across any convincing medical evidence that these mushrooms at these doses have any specific functional benefit (nor does the brand cite any on their product page).

We do not consider Ryze likely to cause side effects in otherwise healthy adults.

At the time of publishing this article, the brand’s website has the best price on Ryze mushroom coffee by far.