HANAH's latest addition to the superfood lineup

Regardless of what happened yesterday or the challenges today might have in store, there’s one satisfying constant most of us look forward to every morning: that cup of steaming black nectar we call coffee. Didn’t sleep well or long enough? Coffee’s got you covered. Struggling to get motivated for that early morning run? Take a few sips and get after it. Need to perk up before a big presentation at work? Good ol’ Joe has your back.

According to the good folks at the National Coffee Association, American consumers spend a staggering $74.2 billion annually on coffee. That’s 76 percent of the population partaking and supporting an industry that provides almost 1.7 million jobs. Certain demographics are particularly partial to the little brown bean, with a survey by the app Acorns revealing that Millennials spend an average of $2,008 on java and 41 percent saying that they drop more on their daily double espresso or latte over the course of a year than they save for retirement.

Coffee, when taken in moderation, also touts some health benefits thanks to its high levels of antioxidants and beneficial nutrients, including riboflavin, pantothenic acid, manganese, potassium, magnesium and niacin. Many controlled studies in humans show that coffee improves various aspects of brain function — including memory, mood, vigilance, energy levels, reaction times and general mental function. Coffee contains caffeine and L-theanine, two of the most popular nootropics, which are substances that enhance cognition and memory, and facilitate learning.

What if you could make coffee perform better?

It’s safe to say that coffee is America’s legal stimulant of choice. But what if you could make it even better? For as great as coffee is at perking you up, it’s also prone to bringing you back down to earth with a crash. The more shots your barista packs into the cup, the harder the crash is likely to be, which is exacerbated if you like to sprinkle in a little sugar. If you’re really struggling to stay awake because you have a newborn in the house, have to endure the final leg of a long road trip, or need to stay up late to cram for a test or beat a deadline for an article like this one, you might really go to town on the caffeine. While this will help you push through and do what you have to, there’s going to be a reckoning, usually in the form of feeling jittery and jumpy as a cat in a windstorm and a big crash when the caffeine wears off.

Then there’s the slumber issue. One of the great ironies of drinking coffee is that while it jolts you to life in the morning when you’re lurching Frankenstein’s monster, it can also keep you up at night. The average half life of a cup of coffee is around six hours. So if you’re still slugging shots (espresso, not the other kind, though those can screw up your slumber as well) at 8 PM, you might feel lively and talkative for a while, but will be ruing the decision when the caffeine is still coursing through your veins at 2 AM and you’re staring at the ceiling struggling to go to sleep. In which case, all you have left to give you hope is the knowledge that, assuming there’s no power outage or zombie apocalypse, your coffee pot will be right where you left it when your alarm goes off, and barring a barista strike, the smiling, lifesaving saints at your local coffee shop will be ready to greet you when you arrive.

Your coffee, only better

What if there was a way to keep everything you love about your morning, afternoon and even evening cup of coffee without the crash, jitters, and sleep interference we just mentioned? That was the question we sought to answer when we got our team together and brainstormed our next product. As part of our mission to bring you ancient wisdom for modern living, we’re not only creating pure, high-quality products that deliver results, but also want to help you solve problems and improve your life as well.

So when we zoomed out a little and started thinking about high level challenges and possibilities, caffeine soon came to mind (not least because of all the espresso we were drinking at the time, it has to be said!). Our Founder Joel Einhorn recalled that every time he goes to India or the Kingdom of Bhutan to visit our small-scale wild harvesters and immerse himself in the culture, people always invite him into their homes for a conversation and a cup of tea or chai. But it’s no ordinary chai. Yes, the base is the same black tea that’s enjoyed around the world, but it’s blended with milk from yaks, Vechur cows (yep, that’s the rare breed our premium HANAH Vechur Ghee comes from), or similar. Whoever’s preparing the tea also adds in a blend of locally picked spices and herbs, and sometimes, a more mysterious ingredient that looks like ash.

The resulting concoction isn’t just intended to get the conversation going, though there’s plenty of caffeine to do that. Preparing it is also a centering ritual and drinking it is a tonic for multiple ailments. Rather than slamming an espresso shot like you would in an Italian café, this steaming, frothy mixture is to be sipped and savored over several hours, thus eliminating the crash we typically can get from coffee.

Greater than the sum of the parts

With all this in mind, we resolved to create a unique formula that retains all of the things that makes you look forward to your next cup of coffee, while removing some of the potential pitfalls. As always, we began by turning to Dr. Venugopal (Dr. V), an Ayurvedic practitioner in Kerala, India, who helped us refine the original HANAH ONE blend over many years, and has guided the responsible sourcing of Shilajit+, Turmeric+, and many of the other products we’ve developed since.

Ashwagandha

Dr. V worked with his team in Kerala and came back with a shortlist of three herbs. The first is one you’re likely familiar with: ashwagandha. Alongside HANAH ONE (in which it’s one of 30 botanicals), this potent herb has become a staple offering. It’s a natural adaptogen, which is science speak for a substance that helps your body buffer stress. A study published in the Journal of Dietary Supplements found that ashwagandha improves immediate recall and general memory, while other Indian researchers concluded that after two months of taking ashwagandha daily, participants reported reduced anxiety and had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Macuna pruriens

Next on Dr. V’s list was Mucuna pruriens. Also a key supplementary ingredient in HANAH Shilajit+, it’s colloquially known as “the dopamine bean” because of it’s high levels of naturally occurring L-Dopa, a neurotransmitter precursor that prompts the release of “happy hormones.” A team from the University of Siena found that mucuna pruriens also helps stabilize mood, elevates cognitive function, and supports nervous system health.

Bacopa Monnieri

The third ingredient Dr. V recommended including in HANAH Coffee Boost is Bacopa monnieri. A review published in the journal Rejuvenation Research found that this herb’s bacosides help reduce the effects of oxidative stress on neural cells, improves blood flow in the brain, supports optimal regulatory hormones like serotonin and tryptophan, and may help prevent or slow age-related cognitive decline. Furthermore, a team from various institutions in Oregon noted that bacopa monnieri reduced resting heart rate and anxiety among elderly test subjects, while also boosting their recollection capacity.

Together, these herbs combine to offer improved cognitive function, reduced stress and anxiety, increased focus, and more. Coffee is already one of nature’s most potent and widespread nootropics – substances that can improve mental capabilities. As we’ll explore in an upcoming post, by adding a trifecta of herbs that also have this quality to your caffeine-fueled cup, you’re significantly boosting its horsepower, like one of those souped-up sports cars in The Fast and the Furious.

Cutting out the caffeine crash

Now let’s get back to the dreaded crash that hits unsuspecting coffee drinkers, usually at the least opportune moment. One of the reasons this high-low effect occurs is because that just as with sugar, your body doesn’t absorb caffeine gradually. Like kids after trick-or-treating on Halloween, it tries to gobble everything up at once, which is why you get a spike and then a crash.

Coconut milk

To overcome this, Dr. V suggested that we use a powder made from the milk of Kerala coconuts, which are prized for their rich oil content. In fact, Kerala literally translates to “land of coconut trees.” In all of our products, we’re very deliberate to use the right base for maximum absorption of the primary ingredients. In HANAH ONE, it’s nutrient-rich ghee and in our Ashwagandha+, we soak the ashwagandha in milk. Dr. V recommended coconut milk powder for HANAH Coffee Boost because, “It’s known for supporting optimal brain function, endocrine system balance, and general vitality,” he said.

Plus, the healthy fats in coconut slow and even out the absorption of caffeine, so you won’t soar one minute and sink the next. Using this base also produces a smooth, rich taste. Another bonus is that coconut milk powder is dairy-free, making it a better option for anyone who’s lactose intolerant or has a dairy allergy than so-called “butter coffee” (as a side note, HANAH Coffee Boost is also soy-free, gluten-free, and suitable for Keto and Paleo diets).

Like all HANAH products, every batch of HANAH Coffee Boost is produced with purity, quality and results in mind. This is why we source the wild-harvested ingredients from pristine, biodiverse forests in Kerala, and gently combine and process them following ancient proven methods. Once the formula is complete, it’s tested twice at reputable independent laboratories to make sure it doesn’t contain pesticides, microbes, heavy metals, yeast, mold, or salmonella. We test once in India prior to shipping and again in the US before it’s packaged. This ensures that every batch contains only the highest quality herbs and ingredients.

So if you want to enhance all the benefits of coffee, avoid the accompanying crash or jitters and get even more from your brew of choice, look no further than HANAH Coffee Boost. It’s still your favorite cup of coffee (or tea or smoothie or warm water, if that’s more your style), only better.

Introducing HANAH Coffee Boost: It’s your coffee, only better!