When you start reading about the keto diet, one of the first terms you’re likely to run across is “Bulletproof Coffee.” Also known as keto coffee or butter coffee, it’s a way to make black coffee taste better and richer – and support a ketogenic lifestyle at the same time.
Let’s start with the name Bulletproof Coffee. It’s commonly used whenever keto coffee is discussed, but it’s actually a trademarked name for the recipe.
A tech guy named Dave Asprey says he came up with the idea to combine black coffee, MCT oil and healthy fat while he was hiking in Tibet. He formed a company to sell products associated with his Bulletproof coffee recipe in 2013, and it became a sensation. He now sells cookbooks, ground coffee and coffee beans, coffee ingredients, supplements like collagen powder, and several versions of MCT oil including the one called Brain Octane.
Bulletproof coffee is undoubtedly popular. But what’s the reasoning behind butter coffee?
One of the goals is to get MCT oil into keto diets, of course, both for the ketones and the additional health benefits – and coffee is an ideal transport mechanism. However, the other ingredient mixed into keto coffee is just as important: either unsalted grass-fed butter, or grass-fed ghee.
Why grass-fed dairy? It contains more omega-3 fatty acids, and more vitamins A and K, than dairy products from cows that have been fed conventionally. And what is ghee, anyway? It’s a form of strong, clarified butter that has had the milk solids removed, so it has less lactose than regular butter.
One more question: MCT oil makes sense, but why would you put butter or ghee into coffee as well? The primary motivation is to add fat. Keto isn’t just a low-carb diet; the carbs are replaced by fats. That means it’s crucial to consume lots of high-quality fat when you’re on a ketogenic eating plan. Putting butter or ghee into coffee is an easy way to do just that, since they each contain around 12 grams of fat.
The beverage is also very filling, which is why many on keto simply have a cup of coffee – bulletproof coffee – for breakfast each morning. We’ll have more to say about that shortly.
There’s one more thing to keep in mind when making keto coffee. Coffee is basically flavored water, and as you might recall from high school science, water and oil don’t mix. That means that a proper cup of butter coffee has to go into the blender. Blending the ingredients will “force” them to combine into a drinkable cup of coffee, and it will create a final product that looks something like a latte.
Having said all of that, there’s no reason you can’t simply add MCT oil to coffee, without worrying about butter (or ghee) and blenders. Many people do just that, since it still lets them enjoy the benefits of MCTs. And as we’ll explain next, there are very good arguments for skipping the butter.