This week:

• Mushrooms have hired a graphic designer.
• Is water the most insecure drink the fridge?
• Snack nostalgia for kids who were raised by Neil from Art Attack.

There was a time when quitting coffee meant just…drinking less coffee. You'd have an anxiety attack at work, swear off flat whites for a bit, and reluctantly slink into the realm of herbal tea. No replacement products, no rituals, no need for a complete identity shift.

Just you and a new fear of caffeine.

Now we’re quitting coffee and buying a belief system.

Herbal tea is for the weak

Caffeine supreme

Take coffee replacements like Spacegoods (shiny, cosmic, alluring) or MUD\WTR (understated, earthy, probably writes notes app poetry). These beverage choices definitely took a gap year in South East Asia, wear Birkenstocks, and send you their favourite ambient playlists.

Spacegoods / MUD\WTR

Functional mushrooms like lion’s mane and reishi have been around for centuries. They've lived through traditional Eastern medicine, ancient apothecaries, and at least two Westernised trend cycles. Now it’s 2025, mushrooms have an Instagram account, they’ve hired a graphic designer, a creative agency, and dropped a line of merch. Cordyceps. Ashwagandha. Chaga. Lion’s Mane. Reishi. Maca. Medicine from the forest or a spell for summoning a productivity demon? Fullmushroom Alchemist.

What these products are really selling, beyond the benefits of adaptogens and nootropics of which there are some, is the fantasy of being someone who drinks them. Someone with discipline. Someone who wakes up early and journals before going through your emails (cough scrolling TikTok). Someone who definitely doesn’t stare into the abyss sat on the bus, wondering if time is real.

Are these really beverages or mugs of self-optimisation cosplay?

Respect where it’s due

These fungis were quietly working away long before they were ground down and popped into a capsule. Lion’s mane for focus. Reishi for calm. Chaga for immunity. Early scientific studies suggest they’re super powerful for things like cognitive function, inflammation, and sleep.

But it’s okay to giggle about something with years of healing history now sold with names like Soul Shrooms. Plucked from the ground and carefully repackaged by VC-backed wellness brands into soft-touch, resealable, matte packaging.

Said soft-touch, resealable, matte packaging. It does look very nice and we would probably buy them.

Watching Humans Try It: MUD\WTR

We’re partnered with Watch Humans Try It to give our readers access to some of the coolest food & drink products in the UK — real people leaving real reviews. No fluff, no robots, no influencers, just honesty and niche, new products!

Here's what happened when Iz tried MUD\WTR for the first time.

‍In a nutshell: “Maybe I’m not spiritually advanced enough for this”.

Want to be a human trying it?

If you’re new to Watch Humans Try It — sign up to get a starter box of products and get trying and reviewing stuff from some of the best independent food & drinks brands in the UK.

NEW TO REVIEW - Flow Brew Mushroom Super Blend

NEW TO REVIEW - London Nootropics Adaptogenic Coffee

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You can drink mushroom coffee and still mainline a Monster. You can believe in cordyceps and crave a pint. You can laugh at branding and buy into it. It’s not that serious at the end of the day fellas.

Chug a cup of mushrooms and get a flat white after.

Try not to have a panic attack and stay hydrated.

There are no rules! (Except the obvious ones.)

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