Why Werner and Hossain traded strong coffee for mushrooms

A gentler coffee made with shade grown arabica and six fungi, screened for heavy metals and mycotoxins, and sold as an instant powder for morning use. Andrée Werner and Rashad Hossain describe the source of each part and what the label can show.

Coffee promises focus and then often takes it back. That familiar lift followed by worry and a slump sits at the center of many modern cups, and it is also where older plant traditions once offered slower tonics made from dried roots and fungi.

Boston in March 2020 felt cold, quiet and full of uncertainty. There, Andrée Werner and Rashad Hossain started RYZE, a direct to consumer coffee business operated by what they describe as a small but mighty group of creatives, planners, scientists and support staff in Boston, Massachusetts.

The notion began sooner, at Harvard, where the two close friends depended on coffee during long days and late study. The lift and fall left them tired, nervous and unsettled. Hossain later worked for three years after graduation at Kraft Heinz in marketing for well known coffee labels, and became uneasy about promoting coffee that failed to support a steadier life.

What they now sell is instant coffee with mushrooms. Shade grown organic arabica from Mexico is roasted, brewed and spray dried, then mixed with six certified organic fungi raised in California and Nevada, plus MCT and fiber. The list names Cordyceps, lion’s mane, reishi, turkey tail, shiitake and king trumpet. Every lot is checked for mycotoxins and heavy metals.

What draws our attention, and what this interview traces, is how much of the path they can identify. States for fungi, country for coffee, a spray drying stage, a mixing stage, a testing stage, dispatch from Texas. We ask what is recorded, what an extract ratio or a certificate of analysis might reveal, and where the record stays thin.

You name shade grown organic arabica from Mexico that is roasted, brewed and spray dried to instant powder. Can you trace that coffee chain lot by lot, from harvest to dried powder, and note what shifts at each stage.

Hello, we are Andrée and Rashad, and we are grateful you stopped by. We never planned to start a business, we only hoped to feel steadier. At Harvard we leaned hard on coffee to get through long days and late nights, and with time it turned into reliance. We felt drained, nervous and unsettled after the lift, then flat as it faded. We understood we needed better so we created it. After graduation I gave three years to Kraft Heinz, handling marketing for several of the most widely sold coffee labels in the world. I watched the way coffee was sold, and I grew uneasy about the after effects and about promoting goods that failed to sustain a balanced routine. So I left to prepare a kinder coffee for myself with nutrient dense foods. Cordyceps was the earliest fungus we tried, and its effect on our stamina and attention surprised us. From there we brought five more fungi into our routine, and after I refined that mixture, RYZE came into being.

Your medium roast shows about 48mg of caffeine per cup, and your dark roast shows 80 to 90mg per serving. Why leave some coffee in the blend instead of taking caffeine out fully, and how do you use those figures on the label.

We cherish the custom yet we will not treat jitters, crash and stomach upset as the cost of coffee. We prefer to lean on Cordyceps for stamina rather than depend on strong caffeine, and we prefer to keep one plain morning habit rather than complicate wellness. A standard brewed mug is commonly close to 95mg or higher, so our medium roast at near 48mg is under half. That smaller figure is the purpose. It allows people to retain the flavor and practice they enjoy, in a softer cup.

Our dark roast at 80 to 90mg per serving suits those who prefer a stronger coffee character with Cordyceps and Reishi included. We print the span on the page because instant powder, spoon fill and brew strength can alter the finished mug. Mix into 8 to 10 oz of hot water, whisk for froth, add nut milk or natural sweetener as wished. That is the full practice. Feel a Little Better Every Day is more than a tagline for us. It is the test for whether the caffeine amount is correct.

Your flagship Medium Roast joins coffee with a six mushroom blend plus MCT and fiber, while Dark Roast relies on Cordyceps and Reishi for a bolder cup. After more than a year of tinkering and taste trials, how did the two formulas grow apart.

There were plenty of late evenings, endless small adjustments, and more tastings than we can count. We gave our all to growing our community and meeting people who, as we did, wanted something kinder for their minds, bodies and lives. After over a year of adjusting, sampling and tasting we settled on six fungi plus fine organic coffee for the main blend.

The medium roast is the everyday mug, smooth and organic, near 48mg caffeine per cup, with the six fungus mixture and MCT for steady energy without the slump. The dark roast is organic instant dark roast with Cordyceps and Reishi, 80 to 90mg caffeine per serving, for a fuller coffee flavor with fungal blend. The method matches, blend into 8 to 10 oz of hot water, whisk if foam is wanted. One offers range across six fungi, the other centers on two with deeper roast notes. Both preserve a plain ritual.

You grow certified organic mushrooms in California and Nevada, six kinds including Cordyceps, lion’s mane and reishi. Which growing method do you use, fruiting body or myceliated grain, and what do your extract ratio and standardised marker truly declare.

We work with six fungi, Cordyceps, lion’s mane, reishi, turkey tail, shiitake and king trumpet, cultivated as certified organic in California and Nevada. Certified organic in this setting speaks to cultivation and handling under United States organic standards, with inspections and input logs. They are dried following harvest, then readied for mixing with the coffee powder. The remaining ingredients are sourced in the US.

On our label we present the fungal blend as foods used for broad wellness care rather than as drugs. What we can document at present is state of origin, organic status, drying and mixing logs, and final batch files. What we have not released by lot is whether each fungus is fruiting body alone or contains myceliated substrate, nor the extract ratio or any calibrated marker such as beta glucan share. Those three points are what Root to Bottle readers check when weighing fungal goods. To provide it we would have to release the specification sheet for each fungal component and pair it with the certificate of analysis for each finished lot.

You state ingredients are screened for mycotoxins and heavy metals. Who collects the sample, which lab tests it, and what does a certificate of analysis let a buyer confirm about one batch.

Screening belongs to each mixture. Components are checked for mycotoxins and heavy metals, which are the two hazards we track most closely in coffee and dried fungi. Coffee may hold mold linked substances when drying or storage falters. Fungi may absorb metals from growth medium, water or air. So a portion from the lot travels to an outside lab, which means a facility apart from us and from our vendors.

A certificate of analysis is the laboratory sheet for that lot. It notes what was examined, the procedure, the threshold, and the outcome. For heavy metals that commonly covers lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury set against a stated threshold. For mycotoxins that commonly covers aflatoxins and ochratoxin A set against a stated threshold. The sheet bears the lot or batch code, so the paper can be tied to the powder in the pouch. We have not shared those sheets lot by lot, and we do not identify the facilities in the brief. What would demonstrate it is a lot search where a purchaser enters the code on pack and views the matching certificate.

We would rather make a simple daily ritual than overcomplicate wellness.

Andrée Werner and Rashad Hossain

You began online in March 2020 as two Harvard undergrad friends who had relied on coffee through long days and late nights. What did those spikes and crashes feel like, and what led you to say you needed better so you built it.

Hi, we are Andrée and Rashad, and we are so pleased you joined us. Our aim at the start was not a firm, only a wish to feel improved. At Harvard we depended strongly on coffee to carry us across long days and late nights, and gradually it grew into a reliance. We felt spent, edgy and restless after the surge, then low once it passed. We recognized we required better so we built it.

After university I passed three years at Kraft Heinz, marketing a few of the planet’s best known coffee labels. I observed how coffee reached shoppers, and I grew cautious about the drawbacks and about advertising goods that failed to back a wholesome pattern. So I resigned to craft a more supportive coffee for myself with nourishing foods. Cordyceps was the initial fungus we found, and its influence on our vigor and clarity astonished us. From that point we folded five further fungi into our habit, and when I completed that mix, RYZE was born.

You list 219503 reviews at 4.8 out of 5 with more than 200000 five star reviews, and you ship from Texas while sourcing in the US. How do you hold lot identity steady from blending to the box that leaves the warehouse.

We began selling online in March 2020 as a direct to consumer label, and what started as a private morning habit expanded into a daily practice for millions. We raise organic fungi in California and Nevada, obtain remaining components in the US, and dispatch from Texas. That balance holds only when records travel with the goods.

In daily work it looks like this. Every arriving component carries a lot code and a certificate. Mixing forms a fresh batch code that records which component lots entered and in what amounts. Fill weight is verified so every serving holds the planned share of coffee and fungal mix. The final batch code is printed on pack, and the Texas site picks and sends orders tied to that code. Reviews show whether people buy again and how the mug tastes. The batch file shows what sits within that mug. We have found that truly no one will grasp your enterprise as you do, and you will never learn anything until you test, so we keep refining the method with every run.

You often say feel a little better every day and speak of a RYZE Revolution rooted in community. What does that community ask you to show next about provenance.

People ask us where precisely this originates, and how we confirm it. They study the Supplement Facts panel and the other ingredients row. They request the farm, the harvest, the drying approach, the extraction facts, the laboratory and the threshold. We remain ever glad to meet fellow founders and share counsel on growing a label through social media plus practical tips for online stores, yet our primary duty is to reply to our own customers.

So the coming evidence is plain and open. Release the fungal specification sheets, covering plant part and extract ratio where relevant. Release a model certificate of analysis showing heavy metals and mycotoxins with procedures and thresholds. Add a lot lookup so every pouch connects to its sheet. Continue naming growers by state and coffee by country, then include harvest season when known. We prefer to foster community and honest ties over merely vending coffee, and records form part of that confidence.

Closing note from the desk

What remains with us is the directness of the path they do disclose. Country for coffee, states for fungi, roast and spray dry stages, mix with MCT and fiber, screens for mycotoxins and heavy metals, pack and send from Texas. That is fuller sourcing than many instant coffees share, and it offers a thoughtful shopper a point of entry.

What stays unclear is equally plain. No grower names, no fruiting body or extract ratio on view, no open certificate of analysis by lot. RYZE aimed to shape a soothing coffee habit with steady energy and easy preparation. The forward move toward that aim is to let every pouch lead back to its own documents.

Product spotlight

Mushroom Coffee sells for 45 dollars for 30 servings. Organic instant medium roast with six fungus mix plus MCT and fiber, near 48mg caffeine per cup. Mix into 8 to 10 oz of hot water, whisk for froth, add nut milk or natural sweetener as wished. The label frames it for a steady morning habit.

Mushroom Coffee Dark Roast sells for 27 dollars for 30 servings. An organic instant dark roast with Cordyceps and Reishi plus a fungal mix and MCT, 80 to 90mg caffeine per serving. Same preparation, mix into 8 to 10 oz of hot water. The label frames it for a fuller mug with the same plain habit.