Butter Takes A New Role In Breakfast... In Coffee

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Many of us have coffee with butter in the morning, the butter being on our toast.

But would you ever put the butter in your coffee?

It's a new trend, blending butter and coffee together into a magic mixture.

It's supposed to taste good, cut cravings, and boost energy and brain power.

Advocates say it's all about the kind of fat in the drink.

But is that too good to be true?

And how does it really taste?

Natalie Nyhus went to find out.

If you want to talk about coffee, go to Urban Bean

Our viewers picked this Minneapolis coffee shop as the Best of Minnesota.

And their customers will tell you exactly what they love to drink.

But there is one way you won't find customers at Urban Bean drinking their coffee – with butter.

Yet that is the new craze, drinking coffee with unsalted butter and a special oil for the health benefits.

"People are feeling more energy, increased brain power, less cravings, weight's coming off that they had trouble losing, and I think it's all because of the healthy fat in the butter," registered dietician, Cassie Bjork, said.

Bjork drinks a big cup every morning.

She's the registered dietitian and health coach who founded HealthySimpleLife.com.

"It tastes great. It's not that much different than having coffee with cream in it," Bjork said.

The recipe is relatively simple.

It calls for two cups of hot coffee, two tablespoons of unsalted, grass-fed butter and one-to-two tablespoons of MCT oil.

The frothy results taste like a rich latte and are surprisingly filling.

"When you have that butter, that good healthy fat, that's why you feel increase in energy, and your brain power," Bjork said.

She says healthy fats help the body run cleaner, and the brain run better.

MCT oil is basically the best part of coconut oil, which has become so popular.

And grass-fed butter has a better micronutrient profile.

"So when we're having the fat from the MCT oil and the butter in the coffee, we're giving our body the healthy fat that it needs," Bjork said.

But does it need 440 calories, and 51-grams of fat?

"It could be a positive if you were trading a cup of coffee with 2 oz of butter in it for having two buttered croissants and a cup of coffee with cream and sugar.  Overall, that would be a positive, calorically," Dr.Kannan Mutharasan said.

Other than that, Dr.Kannan Mutharasan doesn't have much good to say about butter and coffee mixture.

He's a cardiologist from  Northwestern, who says the fat will keep you full, but doubts any other benefits.

"At this moment, from what I know medically, I would not recommend it for anyone," Mutharasan said. "Because there is no evidence to suggest that taking in saturated fats is any better for you than unsaturated fats."

Back at Urban Bean, we did find a few people who'd tried the new brew.

But their opinions were mixed.

You may have heard, people call this "Bulletproof Coffee."

That's because it started with something called the Bulletproof Diet, that's been marketed online.

And not surprisingly, the bulletproof coffee web site sells branded versions of the coffee and the oil you need to make it.