Blended Butter & MCT Coffee
Hot coffee, blended smooth with unsalted butter and MCT oil, into a rich, foamy drink calorically dense enough to replace breakfast instead of just accompanying it.
Why it works
A tablespoon each of butter and MCT oil blended into hot coffee adds about 230 calories of nearly pure fat, no protein, no carbohydrate. That fat is what makes the drink filling: it slows how fast the stomach empties, and fat is the most calorie-dense of the three macronutrients, so a cup like this can hold off hunger the way any small, high-fat meal would. MCT oil is mostly caprylic and capric acid, medium-chain fats that skip the usual route into the bloodstream and travel straight to the liver, where they get burned quickly and can raise blood ketones within about an hour. That part is real chemistry. The further claims made for MCT specifically, sharper focus, extra fat loss, more energy than the calories account for, rest on a thin base of small trials, several funded by companies that sell MCT oil. The caffeine in the coffee has a far stronger case for cognitive effects: it reliably improves alertness and reaction time at ordinary cup-of-coffee doses. Butter is concentrated saturated fat, which raises LDL cholesterol when it replaces unsaturated fat in the diet, so this is a drink worth keeping occasional rather than daily if cholesterol is a concern.
Caffeine's effect on alertness and reaction time is one of the most consistently replicated findings in nutrition research, and it isn't close. The extra claims made for MCT oil, sharper focus, faster fat loss, more energy than the calories explain, rest on a thinner base of small trials, several funded by companies that sell MCT oil. The cholesterol-raising effect of butter, and of unfiltered coffee's cafestol, is well established by comparison.
Ingredients
- 240 ml (1 cup) hot strong-brewed coffee, paper-filtered if possible
- 14 g (1 tbsp) unsalted butter, preferably grass-fed, cubed
- 14 ml (1 tbsp) MCT oil
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, optional
Method
- Brew the coffee strong, ideally through a paper filter rather than a French press, moka pot, or espresso machine. Paper filtering traps most of the cafestol, a compound that otherwise adds to the cholesterol effect of the butter here.
- Add the hot coffee, butter, and MCT oil to a blender. Stir in the cinnamon now if using it.
- Blend on high for 20 to 30 seconds, until the surface turns pale tan and holds a layer of foam like a latte.
- Pour into a mug and drink it right away. It looks smooth and unified straight out of the blender and separates into an oily film within a few minutes as it cools, which is the fat settling back out rather than anything going wrong.
- The first time you make this, start with half the MCT oil. On its own, MCT oil can cause cramping or loose stool in anyone whose gut isn't used to it yet, so learn your own tolerance before committing to a full tablespoon.
